• No major European powers are included amid sharp disagreements with Trump over Greenland, tariff issues

ISTANBUL

The Trump administration’s newly formed “Board of Peace” on Wednesday announced 26 countries designated as founding members of the initiative.

A week after US President Donald Trump formally introduced the “Board of Peace” at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the body launched an official account on US social media company X.

The list of founding members includes Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Albania, Bahrain, Belarus, Bulgaria, Cambodia, El Salvador, Egypt, Hungary, Indonesia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Mongolia, Morocco, Pakistan, Paraguay, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam, spanning the Middle East, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Caucasus.

Notably absent from the list are major European countries such as France, Germany, and the UK, amid sharp disagreements with Trump on issues including Greenland and tariff policies, which have strained relations between Washington and several European capitals.

Ukraine questioned how it could participate alongside Russia and Belarus. Belarus accepted the invitation to join, while Russia was not included in the board, despite President Vladimir Putin saying Moscow was ready to allocate $1 billion from Russian assets frozen by the previous US administration to the body’s budget.

Trump rescinded Canada’s invitation, citing Prime Minister Mark Carney’s speech at the World Economic Forum, in which he warned against economic coercion by major powers.

Trump announced the establishment of the "Board of Peace" on Jan. 15 as part of his broader plan for Gaza, under which the ceasefire agreement was reached. The board was authorized by the UN Security Council Resolution 2803 in November 2025.

The board was originally conceived to oversee the ceasefire and reconstruction of Gaza, but its charter expands its mandate to peace-building in all areas affected by or at risk of conflict.

Further details on the board’s mandate, leadership structure, and timeline for implementation have yet to be formally announced.