Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko has delivered a deeply underhanded endorsement of President Donald Trump’s newly concocted “Board of Peace” just as the American president prepares to hawk the project to world leaders in Davos.
Lukashenko, a close Putin ally, devoted a segment on state-controlled television Tuesday to formally accepting Trump’s invitation to serve on the peace board.
The authoritarian leader, who has ruled Belarus since 1994, admitted during the signing that his first thought when hearing of the $1 billion fee for a permanent seat on the board was, “Nobody will just pay money like that.”
He went on to inadvertently trash the board by listing all the ways to avoid paying the buy-in fee, which he noted only applies to those who want to stick around for more than three years.
“A billion is needed if in three years you will still want to work,” he said, translated from Russian. In his case, he said, he is counting on an entirely different way to receive a discount: “If you cooperate and work well in the name of peace, then you can continue working even without a billion. I’m focusing on the second option.”
Of critics who’d knocked him for coughing up the membership fee, he said, “It’s all a lie,” suggesting such criticism was only a way to “hurt” him and bring down his approval rating.
Lukashenko also appeared to scoff at the idea that Trump’s Board of Peace, which is ostensibly meant to “promote stability” and restore “lawful governance” in Gaza, should come with a steep price tag, telling a reporter, “If there was something worth paying a billion dollars for, I would pay it.”
“If they want to receive my services, like those of others who were invited, and also receive a billion dollars… Even Trump wouldn’t allow himself such a thing,“ Lukashenko said.
Trump, 79, announced the creation of his already controversial “Board of Peace” last Thursday. Among the board’s executive members are Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff.
According to the group’s draft charter, obtained by Bloomberg, Trump retains full control over who is admitted to the organization in his role as its inaugural chairman, and all majority-decided votes are subject to his final approval.
“Each Member State shall serve a term of no more than three years from this Charter’s entry into force, subject to renewal by the Chairman,” the draft reads. “The three-year membership term shall not apply to Member States that contribute more than USD $1,000,000,000 in cash funds to the Board of Peace within the first year of the Charter’s entry into force.”
In addition to Belarus, the United Arab Emirates has joined the group, and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced his acceptance of Trump’s invitation in a post on X. Russia’s Vladimir Putin was also invited to join the organization, despite Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine—a conflict Trump has said he could end “quickly.”
French President Emmanuel Macron rejected the invitation to join the board, his office said Monday, citing concerns that it could weaken an already fracturing NATO alliance.
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