TASS. January 18. Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said that President Vladimir Putin has received an invitation to join the Board of Peace for Gaza and is considering whether to accept.
Peace plan for Gaza
The Board of Peace is part of US President Donald Trump’s plan for settling the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian radical movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The two-phase plan was made public on September 29, 2025. Phase one envisaged the release of Israeli hostages and the withdrawal of Israeli troops to the so-called Yellow Line, the disarmament of Palestinian radical groups, establishment of interim external administration of the enclave and the deployment of international stabilization forces.
In October, the parties to the conflict reached an Egypt-, Qatar-, United States-, and Turkey-mediated agreement on the implementation of this plan, which was approved by United Nations Security Council resolution 2803 on November 17, 2025. The resolution was supported by 13 out of the 15 UN Security Council members, with Russia and China abstaining.
On January 14, 2026, Washington announced the start of the implementation of phase two of Trump’s plan, which provides for the establishment of Gaza governance structures, including the so-called Board of Peace.
Board of Peace
The White House said on January 16 that the Trump-chaired Board of Peace will include US special envoy Steve Witkoff, US entrepreneur and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, former UK Prime Minister (1997-2007) Tony Blair, Apollo Global Management owner Mark Rowan, World Bank Group President Ajay Banga, and Trump's deputy national security adviser Robert Gabriel.
According to media reports, the board will initially include the leaders of around 15 world nations and it will be up to Trump to decide whom to invite to join the body. However, as of now, invitations have reportedly been received by heads of state and government of nearly 60 countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Hungary, India, Turkey, Qatar, Germany, and Poland. Media claim that the invitation of the Turkish and Qatari leaders was met with resentment in Israel as it claimed that it wasn't consulted on the matter. However, it is not yet known whether the parties to the conflict - Israel and Hamas - will be represented on the board.
Each member state will remain on the board for not more than three years, except those who will pay a permanent membership fee of at least $1 billion, Bloomberg said, citing the board’s draft charter. Decisions will be passed by a majority vote but the final say-so will lie with the chairman, Donald Trump.
According to The Financial Times, the Trump administration views the Board of Peace as a groundwork for a new global structure for settling international conflicts that would constitute an alternative to United Nations institutions.