World leaders were reportedly anxious after President Donald Trump‘s demand for his proposed “Board of Peace for Gaza” signing ceremony ahead of the World Economic Forum in Davos, according to reports Monday.
The clock was ticking as the international community was pressured to decide on accepting Trump’s membership for $1 billion as insiders revealed confusion over the president’s invitation and push, according to a Bloomberg report. Trump sent out the invite over the weekend and has invited Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarus’s autocratic leader, Alexander Lukashenko, among others, to join.
“Trump wants the full constitution and remit of the committee signed in Davos on Thursday, according to people familiar with the matter. But some elements of the small print have left invitees wondering whether to accept,” Bloomberg reported.
France has already rejected it, with President Emmanuel Macron declining the invitation.
The move has left other countries uncertain, just days away from the event, and after reports surfaced Monday of a letter Trump sent Norway’s prime minister was made public that included an open threat from Trump that his administration would continue to pursue acquiring Greenland, a goal that the president suggested was motivated, in part, by not receiving the Nobel Peace Prize last year.
“Several liberal democracies are squirming, uncertain how to respond and not wanting to offend Trump,” Bloomberg reported.
“So far, only Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has publicly pushed back against the proposal,” Bloomberg reported. “While he’s in favor of the Board of Peace as a concept, his office said the make-up of a separate Gaza committee serving under the board, was ‘not coordinated with Israel and runs contrary to its policy,’ after officials from Qatar and Turkey were included.”
Other countries have begun to question the invitation and financial amount, and what the motive behind Trump’s move might be. Trump had initially plugged the board as a way to “guide Gaza’s post-war reconstruction,” according to The Daily Beast.
“However, there’s no mention of Gaza in its charter, and as more details have emerged about the new body’s composition and its reported $1 billion buy-in fee, questions are mounting about what the real endgame is,” The Beast reported.
It’s unclear which countries would agree to Trump’s demands. Several countries have expressed concern over going against Trump in his request, considering his most recent attacks on Greenland and military intervention of Venezuela.
“A European official called that move farcical in light of Putin’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine and said they had no doubt that the Russian leader would be delighted to accept,” Bloomberg reported. “They warned it confirmed the dilemma for the continent: go along with what Trump wants or risk further splitting apart the transatlantic alliance.”
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