Trump wants peace board to rewrite global order—but major powers aren’t sold
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. President Trump touts his Board of Peace as an organization of accomplished leaders that will displace the United Nations, with him as permanent chairman. But so far it is a group of countries more interested in currying favor with him than in solving pressing conflicts.
Russia and China haven’t accepted Trump’s invitation, and even longtime U.S. allies the U.K. and France say they are reluctant, worried about joining an organization subject to Trump’s whims that could give equal status to authoritarians such as Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump presided over a signing ceremony for the board’s charter Thursday in Davos, Switzerland, joined on stage by leaders from Argentina, Hungary, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and 14 other countries. “Once this board is completely formed, we can do pretty much whatever we want," Trump said, adding “we’ll do it in conjunction with the United Nations." British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper told the BBC on Thursday that the U.K. wouldn’t be signing on to the board for now, in part because of concerns over the potential involvement of Putin.
She said the U.K. wanted to support the peace plan for Gaza but the board was a “legal treaty that raises much broader issues." To the holdouts, the board is a new international club built alarmingly around Trump, without the protections of the U.N. For the countries that have joined, it is a chance for access to Trump and a bigger, albeit still supporting, diplomatic role.
Read on livemint.com