Trump's 'Board of Peace' holds first meeting, but key U.S. allies skip it

President Donald Trump's "Board of Peace" convened in Washington on Thursday for its long-awaited first meeting, with the next phase of the fragile ceasefire in Gaza taking center stage.

Key U.S. allies are absent from the summit, however, amid concern Trump may hope to challenge the United Nations with his broader ambition of using the body to help resolve global conflicts, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.

Representatives of at least 40 countries, including heads of state, were expected to descend on Washington for the summit, which is taking place at the U.S. Institute of Peace, a senior U.S. official told NBC News. At least five world leaders were expected to attend, including Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Argentinian President Javier Milei, both allies of Trump.

Trump is expected to announce a multi-billion-dollar reconstruction plan for Gaza, along with contributions from board members, with the president saying over the weekend that so far more than $5 billion had been pledged, without identifying the countries that have pledged the funding.

He is also slated to unveil the details of plans for a United Nations-authorized stabilization force in Gaza, including a number of countries that the U.S. official said are planning to dedicate several thousand troops to the initiative.

A senior U.S. official told NBC news that the meeting will include updates on “all the lines of effort," including humanitarian assistance, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, and the International Stabilization Force.

The president expressed optimism in the lead-up to the summit, telling reporters aboard Air Force One on Tuesday that the "greatest leaders in the world" were joining the Board of Peace, which he initially pitched as a body to oversee peace efforts in Gaza, before drastically expanding its remit into a U.N.-style body intended to address major world conflicts.

A host of countries have committed to joining, including Armenia, Egypt, Hungary, Pakistan, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, though it remains unclear how many, if any, have committed to donating $1 billion to the initiative for permanent membership.

Notably absent from the talks, however, will be key U.S. allies, with the U.K., France, Norway, Sweden and Slovenia among the countries declining to join the body, with some citing concerns over its charter, which made no direct mention of Gaza, and its potential to undermine the U.N.'s role in peacekeeping efforts.

Pope Leo XIV was the latest to turn down Trump's invitation to join the board, with the Vatican expressing concern that "the U.N. is primarily responsible for managing these crisis situations."

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called the decision “deeply unfortunate,” adding, “I don’t think that peace should be partisan or political or controversial.”

Some world leaders have also voiced concern over Russia’s potential involvement, after an invitation was extended to the Kremlin. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said earlier this week that the country would not join the first summit but is still “working out” its long-term position, according to Russian state news agency TASS.

News.Az 

By Ulviyya Salmanli