Britain and a host of other major US allies have snubbed Donald Trump’s high-profile signing ceremony to kickstart his Gaza board of peace.
Canada, Italy, and a series of other Western powers swerved the event at the World Economic Forum in Davos amid concerns over the proposal itself, as well as the membership of the board. France, Norway and Sweden have indicated they will not join.
After arriving at the conference yesterday and treating delegates to a rambling speech on his plans to take over Greenland, President Trump has on Thursday switched his attention to the board of peace, unveiling details of the redevelopment plans for Gaza, including proposals for cities called “New Gaza” and “New Rafah”.
But while the US says 35 countries have agreed to join the project, including Israel, dozens more have yet to formally accept their invitations.
What are the concerns?
On Thursday Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, hit out at President Trump’s decision to include one Vladimir Putin on the board, at a time when Russia has become a global pariah for its war in Ukraine.
Ms Cooper slammed the idea of the Russian president “being part of something which is talking about peace when we have still not seen any signs from Putin that there will be a commitment to peace in Ukraine”.
Apart from the UK, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Norway, Slovenia, Sweden and New Zealand have opted out of the Board of Peace.
On the other hand, more than 20 countries, including Argentina, Albania, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Paraguay, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and others have agreed to join.
But the UK is understood to have multiple concerns about the new international organisation.
Mr Trump has said permanent membership will cost each nation a whopping $1bn each, a demand which has alienated a number of allies.
There are also fears that he intends to use the new board to replace the United Nations, an organisation set up to try to keep peace across the globe in the wake of the Second World War.
The US president has insisted that his board will work alongside the UN, but his reassurances are struggling to hit their target after his threats against Greenland, which is part of the Kingdom of Denmark, a Nato ally, this week.
At the televised launch of the board, Mr Trump did nothing to ease concerns. He said that the group, initially designed to cement the ceasefire in Gaza, would take a wider role, a move that will dispirit many nations.
Speaking in Switzerland he said: “Once this board is completely formed, we can do pretty much whatever we want to do,” words that will ring alarm bells across Europe and further afield.
What is Trump’s response to the snub?
It is fair to say that the US president is refusing to take “no” for an answer.
Earlier this week, when asked about France’s decision not to attend the signing ceremony, Mr Trump told reporters that he would respond by putting a “200 per cent tariff” on French wines and champagne. He added of the French president Emmanuel Macron: “he’ll join”.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he will be part of the board, after his office earlier criticised the makeup of the committee charged with overseeing Gaza.
But Mr Trump will also be keenly aware that of the countries that have committed to join, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Turkey and Belarus, few are democracies, potentially limiting his group’s legitimacy and scope.
