ROME, January 21. /TASS/. Pope Leo XIV has been invited to join the Board of Peace, which is being assembled by the US to manage the Gaza Strip as part of the Middle East peace process, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin said.

"[US President Donald] Trump is asking various countries to participate [in the Board of Peace]. <…> We have received this invitation too. The Pope has received the invitation and we are assessing what to do. We are examining it," the ANSA news agency quoted Parolin as saying. He added that a response would take some time.

Many foreign leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, were invited to join the Board of Peace on Gaza. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the proposal is being studied.

Trump intends to chair this international body, which, according to agreements between Israel and the radical Palestinian movement Hamas, will take over the administration of the Gaza Strip. According to Bloomberg, the US president plans to approve the council's powers and charter on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos on January 22.