Trump claims world ‘richer, safer’ than year ago at launch of his ‘board of peace’ | Gaza
Donald Trump claimed the world was “richer, safer and much more peaceful than it was just a year ago” as he hosted the launch event of his “peace board” initiative at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Hosting the signing ceremony for the new body, the US president repeated his claim that he had stopped eight wars. “We put out all these fires. Most people, including me, didn’t know some of these wars were going on,” he said.
Before Trump took the podium, ministers and heads of government from 19 countries took the stage and took their seats, describing it as “one of the most important meetings.”
The countries represented by 18 men and one woman (Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani) included Morocco, Hungary, Indonesia, Jordan, Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia. Argentinian President Javier Milei was also there.
Trump described them as “very popular leaders in most cases; not so popular in some cases, but that’s the way things go in life.” He also claimed that the organization would be “one of the most important organizations ever created in world history.”
The board, which Trump will chair, was initially discussed as part of the ceasefire plan in Gaza.
But he has recently suggested the board could take on a much broader geopolitical role. Asked by a reporter Tuesday whether the newly formed body could replace the UN, Trump said, “It could be.”
Last week, former British prime minister Tony Blair announced the creation of a “founding board” for the body, which includes World Bank chief Ajay Banga and Jared Kushner, the US president’s son-in-law and longtime adviser.
Trump claimed the war in Gaza had been reduced to “small fires.” He said Hamas “will have to give up its weapons” and claimed that its members were “born with rifles in their hands.”
Earlier on Thursday, British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said Britain would not sign up to a “peace board” for now.
“There is a lot of work to be done; we will not be one of the signatories today, because this is a legal agreement that raises much broader issues, and we also have concerns about the President.” [Vladimir] “For Putin to be part of something that talks about peace, even though we haven’t seen any signs yet from Putin that there will be a commitment to peace in Ukraine, that’s what we need to be talking about, to be honest,” he said.
Russia has not attended the World Economic Forum since its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Putin said Moscow was still consulting “strategic partners” before deciding to implement the plan.
