Putin invited to join US-led Gaza ‘Board of Peace’, Trump says

President Donald Trump has confirmed he invited Vladimir Putin to join a US-proposed Gaza “Board of Peace”.

The board is part of Trump’s 20-point plan to end the Israel-Hamas war and expected to temporarily oversee the running of Gaza and manage its reconstruction.

On Monday, the Kremlin said the Russian president had received the offer. Neither Moscow nor Trump has said whether Putin had accepted.

Washington has asked various world leaders to sit on the board. On Monday, Trump threatened 200% tariffs on French wine after President Emmanuel Macron declined to join.

The Board of Peace will be made up of world leaders, with President Trump as its chairman, according to the White House. Its structure remains unclear and members are still being invited.

The White House’s offer to Putin comes as Russia is yet to accept a US-backed peace deal aimed at ending its four-year assault on Ukraine.

On Monday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Moscow was “currently studying all details of this offer”.

“We hope to be in touch with the US in order to clarify all of its aspects,” he said.

Asked on Monday if he had invited Putin to join the Board of Peace, Trump told reporters in Florida: “Yes […] these are world leaders. The answer is yes, I did.”

Elsewhere on Monday, Trump responded to Macron’s decision to decline membership by threatening a 200% tariff on French wine and champagne imports.

“He’ll join, but he doesn’t have to join,” Trump added.

In response, a source close to President Macron told the BBC: “Threats to use tariffs to influence our foreign policies are unacceptable and ineffective.”

They also confirmed that Macron had sent a text message to Trump, in which he offered to organise a Group of Seven (G7) meeting with Russia this week.

It came after Trump posted a screenshot of the message on his Truth Social platform, which read: “I can set up a G7 meeting after Davos on Thursday afternoon. I can invite the Ukrainians, the Danish, the Syrians and the Russians in the margins.

“Let us have a dinner together in Paris on Thursday before you go back to the US”.

Other leaders have cautiously responded to the invitations to join the Board of Peace. Morocco’s King Mohammed VI, and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a Trump ally, have accepted roles on the board.

On Saturday, several news outlets – including Bloomberg – reported that Trump was asking countries to contribute $1bn (£745m) to join.

The White House has also officially unveiled two separate senior boards: the “Gaza Executive Board”, responsible for all on-ground work in Gaza, and the “founding Executive Board”, which will focus on high-level investment and diplomacy.

Former prime minister Sir Tony Blair, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, are among those listed as Trump’s picks for the founding board.

So far, no Palestinian names have been included on the senior boards.

Meanwhile, Israel has voiced objections to the proposed boards, saying it was not consulted in their functions and makeup.

Reports suggest Trump wants the board formally ratified by world leaders during a special ceremony at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, later this week.