Trump expands Board of Peace beyond Gaza as Zelenskyy declines participation

US President Donald Trump is set to expand the scope of his Board of Peace beyond the Gaza Strip, a move that has raised alarm among some European and NATO allies, who view it as a potential attempt to establish a rival to the United Nations Security Council — with Trump retaining the sole veto power.

“The Board of Peace is not going to be limited to Gaza. It's a Board of Peace around the world,” a senior US official told Axios.

“The president is focused on our hemisphere first, but he has his eye on the world. I wouldn't say he's fixated on global domination. He's America first. And America is still the world's leader.”

Trump’s advisers say the president has been emboldened by the swift capture of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro. “We're holding our breath, but it's definitely freed up the president even more to project power around the world,” one top adviser said.

Ahead of his arrival in Davos, Trump posted a series of memes on social media, including images claiming Greenland and Canada, and shared private messages from French President Emmanuel Macron and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, alongside fresh arguments for US claims on Greenland.

“The message [in Davos] is how incredible our country is doing,” Trump told reporters.

US allies had initially expected Trump to focus on the Board of Peace in Gaza and sign a reconstruction deal for Ukraine. Instead, the Greenland dispute has dominated diplomatic preparations, forcing European officials to abandon planned talking points on Ukraine to address the emerging Arctic crisis. “They had to shred their Ukraine talking points and write new ones on Greenland,” a Ukrainian official noted.

Trump set the tone early in the week by texting the Norwegian prime minister, stating that because he did not receive the Nobel Peace Prize, he would no longer focus primarily on peace. The US later formalized the note on official letterhead and circulated it to NATO ambassadors, according to PBS. A senior Norwegian official said Oslo had intended the exchange to remain private and was surprised by its wider dissemination.

European countries are signaling readiness to respond. The EU is reportedly considering a package of retaliatory tariffs, while Denmark is sending additional troops to Greenland. Some diplomats have expressed skepticism that Europe can match Trump’s assertiveness. “I’m taking the under on European fortitude,” quipped one American Davos veteran.

The Board of Peace, which Trump plans to officially launch on January 22, is intended to oversee reconstruction in Gaza. However, the White House-drafted charter grants Trump veto authority over all decisions. France has declined to join at this stage, and several European countries have expressed skepticism, while Morocco, Qatar, and Indonesia have agreed to participate. Trump has invited 58 leaders in total.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has shown little interest in participating. According to the Financial Times, Zelenskyy’s reluctance stems from the fact that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian leader Aleksandr Lukashenko are reportedly invited to the council.

Before accepting, Zelenskyy wants to better understand how the board will operate, the people said, and whether Trump intends for it to operate independently or take the place of a board currently being discussed by American and Ukrainian negotiators as part of a peace plan to bring Russia’s war to an end.

Despite the distractions, Trump still plans to meet Zelenskyy and several European leaders, though a US official cautioned against expecting breakthroughs. Additionally, Trump’s envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, are scheduled to meet Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev in Davos to discuss Ukraine. Kremlin officials have publicly praised Trump’s Greenland initiative and confirmed that Putin was invited to join the Board of Peace.

In pre-Davos commentary, a senior US official suggested that Trump may use the forum to challenge international norms.

“He feels he settled all these conflicts — and, yes, some of them are backsliding — without the UN. Without any real help from them. I suspect he’ll infer that the Board of Peace is the foil to the UN. But you never know what you’re going to get with a Donald Trump speech until he gives it.”

By Vafa Guliyeva