Putin offers $1bn to Trump’s ‘peace board’

The contribution would come from the Russian assets frozen in the US

Moscow is ready to contribute to US President Donald Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ initiative, President Vladimir Putin told the Russian Security Council on Wednesday. He suggested donating $1 billion to the body out of the Russian assets frozen in the US to support the recovery of the Palestinian enclave.

The initiative envisages an international council to manage funding, security, and political coordination in Gaza during a transitional period following a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. The body will work alongside a Palestinian technocratic administration. Trump came up with the idea after the US brokered the truce last year.

Russia could provide $1 billion for the organization “right now, even before we decide whether we’ll take part… in the work of the Board of Peace,” the Russian president said, citing Moscow’s “special relations with the people of Palestine.”

The sum could be taken “from the Russian assets frozen by the previous [US] administration,” he added. Moscow “has always supported and continues to support any efforts aimed at strengthening international stability,” Putin stated.

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Putin thanked Trump for the invitation but said that Moscow would need more time to study the offer and consult its strategic partners.

Trump has invited dozens of nations into the board. Hungary, Morocco, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, and Argentina have already accepted the offer. Those invited to the board can reportedly join for free for three years. A payment of $1 billion – a sum equivalent to the donation offered by Putin – is allegedly required for a permanent seat.

On Tuesday, China also confirmed it had been invited to join but did not specify if it would participate.

According to Washington, the body’s mandate could later be expanded to address other conflicts around the world.

Roughly $5 billion out of a total of around the $300 billion in frozen Russian assets are located in the US, according to AP. On Wednesday, Putin said that the remainder of the sum immobilized in the US could be spent on economic recovery of the areas damaged during the fighting once Moscow and Kiev strike a peace deal.