President Trump said his Board of Peace could replace the United Nations, slamming the organization for not having “been very helpful.”
He initially envisioned the board as a vehicle to implement his 20-point peace plan for Gaza, but it has since ballooned to something more. Countries that want a permanent role on the board have been asked to pay up to $1 billion.
Asked if he wants the Board of Peace to replace the U.N., the president said, “It might.”
“I’m a big fan of the [U.N.’s] potential, but it has never lived up to its potential,” Mr. Trump said Tuesday at the White House press briefing. “The U.N. should have settled every one of the wars that I settled. I never went to them. I never even thought to go to them.”
Still, he said, “You got to let the U.N. continue, because the potential is so great.”
A draft about the Board of Peace says: “Each Member State shall serve a term of no more than three years from this Charter’s entry into force, subject to renewal by the Chairman. The three-year membership term shall not apply to Member States that contribute more than USD $1,000,000,000 in cash funds to the Board of Peace within the first year of the Charter’s entry into force.”
The board is described in the charter as “an international organization that seeks to promote stability, restore dependable and lawful governance, and secure enduring peace in areas affected or threatened by conflict.”
Invitations have been sent to Argentine President Javier Milei, Paraguayan President Santiago Pena, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el‑Sissi, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and others.
The United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Hungary, Argentina and Belarus have agreed to take part. The Kremlin has said Russian President Vladimir Putin is reviewing the details.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not yet said if he plans to join, and outlets reported that French President Emmanuel Macron does not seem open to the idea.
Mr. Trump has repeatedly criticized the U.N. and has questioned its purpose. He has withdrawn the U.S. from more than 30 U.N. entities “that operate contrary to U.S. national interests, security, economic prosperity or sovereignty.”
• Seth McLaughlin contributed to this story, which is based in part on wire service reports.
