Invitations Sent, Answers Pending: World Leaders Weigh Risks of Trump’s Peace Initiative

The article assesses the proposed Board of Peace initiated by President Trump, its focus on the Gaza conflict, invited nations, potential funding for permanent status, and how it may interact with United Nations processes and international diplomacy.

Governments across the world reacted carefully to U.S. President Donald Trump's invitation for a new "Board of Peace", a global conflict-resolution plan that many diplomats warned could weaken the role of the United Nations, even as some leaders expressed interest in working on peace in Gaza, Reuters reported.

According to diplomats, invitations went to about 60 countries and began landing in European capitals on Saturday, yet only Hungary gave a clear public yes, while other governments held back from formal statements and allowed officials to quietly share worries about how the plan might affect existing U.N. efforts.

Board of Peace and Gaza conflict

The proposed Board of Peace would be chaired permanently by Trump, start work with the Gaza conflict, and then expand to other disputes worldwide, with member states serving three-year terms unless they each contribute $1 billion for permanent status, according to a letter and draft charter seen by Reuters.

The letter said countries that pay $1 billion would both finance operations and gain a lasting seat, a structure that raised questions among some diplomats about power imbalances, although the White House defended the approach, stating on X: "This simply offers permanent membership to partner countries who demonstrate deep commitment to peace, security, and prosperity."

United Nations and Board of Peace debate

A mandate for a Board of Peace already existed in a limited form, authorised by the United Nations Security Council in November, but that approval covered only the Gaza conflict and ran only through 2027, with Russia and China abstaining from the vote after criticising the resolution for failing to clearly define the U.N.'s future role in Gaza.

Concerns increased in several European capitals when the U.S. invitation attached a draft charter, which some diplomats feared might compete with U.N. structures; one diplomat said, "It's a 'Trump United Nations' that ignores the fundamentals of the U.N. charter," while three other Western diplomats similarly believed the scheme could undercut the world body.

A spokesperson for U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres responded cautiously, saying Guterres "believes Member States are free to associate in different groups" when asked about the U.S. draft charter, and deputy U.N. spokesperson Farhan Haq noted, "The United Nations will continue with its mandated work," stressing that existing responsibilities would not change.

Board of Peace, Gaza conflict and invited leaders

Officials said invitations went to leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Hungary, Australia, Canada, the European Commission and key Middle East powers, with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a longtime Trump ally, declaring on X: "We have, of course, accepted this honourable invitation," while other capitals weighed the political and diplomatic implications more quietly.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who was visiting South Korea, told reporters that Italy was "ready to do our part", though it remained unclear whether Meloni referred specifically to the Gaza track or to broader peace work, and Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Sunday that Canada had agreed in principle to Trump's Board of Peace for Gaza, with details still under negotiation.

United Nations, Board of Peace and global structure

The invitation document argued that current institutions had fallen short, saying "durable peace requires pragmatic judgment, common-sense solutions, and the courage to depart from approaches and institutions that have too often failed" and adding there was a "need for a more nimble and effective international peace-building body", a message read by some diplomats as a direct criticism of U.N. mechanisms.

Another senior U.N. official did not address the Board of Peace plan directly but underlined that the United Nations remained the only organisation with legal and moral authority to bring every country together, while United Nations General Assembly president Annalena Baerbock told Sky News, "And if we question that... we fall back and very, very, dark, times," adding that each state must make its own choice.

Trump, who has long shown suspicion towards multilateral bodies and often questioned the United Nations over cost, accountability and usefulness for U.S. interests, wrote in the letter that the board would meet soon and said, "This board will be one of a kind, there has never been anything like it!", while U.N. officials noted that the U.S., responsible for 22% of the regular U.N. budget, currently owed $1.5 billion.

Board of Peace membership, Gaza conflict and governance

The White House on Friday listed initial members of the Board of Peace, which would continue beyond its expected role supervising temporary governance arrangements in Gaza under a fragile ceasefire in place since October, naming U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff, former British prime minister Tony Blair and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Trump told Reuters earlier in the week, "It's going to, in my opinion, start with Gaza and then do conflicts as they arise," and the White House also announced a separate 11-member "Gaza Executive Board" including officials from Turkey and Qatar to support a Palestinian technocratic administration, although Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Israel had not been consulted on the board's composition and that it conflicted with Israeli policy.

The plan stated that Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas had agreed to Trump's framework, which set out that a Palestinian technocratic administration would run Gaza while being overseen by an international board during a transitional period, yet rights experts and campaigners argued that Trump's board supervising a foreign territory resembled a colonial system, and Blair's role drew renewed criticism linked to the Iraq war and Britain's imperial history in the Middle East.

The White House did not specify what tasks each board member would handle and did not include any Palestinians among the announced names, promising that more individuals would be revealed in the coming weeks, a structure watched closely in India and Uttar Pradesh where policymakers, students and business communities often follow global governance changes that may influence stability, trade and security debates.

Trump's wider record of scepticism toward international organisations framed responses to the Board of Peace, as three additional diplomats and an Israeli source said Trump aimed for the body to reach beyond Gaza to other disputes Trump claimed to have resolved, while many governments weighed benefits against possible weakening of the United Nations, an issue of interest for Indian readers observing how major powers shape global peace forums.

With inputs from agency