Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: A day after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov asserted that Greenland was not a “natural part of Denmark,” Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said his country is ready to contribute USD 1 billion to the US President Donald Trump-led Board of Peace for Gaza, the media reported on Thursday.
Although Russia has not formally joined Trump’s Board of Peace for Gaza, it is seeking strategic partner consultation and is prepared to contribute USD 1 billion to support the Palestinian people through the US President’s initiative, while the ongoing Ukraine peace talks have not produced any tangible results so far.
Putin also said the idea of using frozen Russian assets for such funding had earlier been discussed with the United States. “The idea to send money from Russian frozen assets has been discussed with the US earlier,” he said, according to Interfax.
The Russian leader said he had suggested discussions with Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas on Trump’s peace initiative. He “proposed to Palestine’s Abbas to discuss Trump’s Board of Peace initiative,” Interfax quoted Putin as saying.
President Trump formally launched the Board of Peace on Thursday. While it was initially linked to ending the Gaza war, the US leader has since argued that the body should play a wider international role. This prospect has raised concerns in parts of Europe about potential overlap, even conflict, with the United Nations’ goals.
“This is a very exciting day, long in the making,” Trump said at the signing ceremony, adding, “We’ll work with many others, including the United Nations.”
He said permanent members of the board would be expected to contribute USD 1 billion each.
Russia said on Wednesday that it was studying the proposal after Trump said Moscow would join. France declined the invitation, while Britain said it would not join at this time. China has not yet said whether it will participate in the initiative.
Gaza
According to details shared at the event, around 35 countries, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Turkey, and Belarus, have committed to join the board.
A UN spokesperson said engagement with the board would be limited to the framework already endorsed by a UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution tied to Trump’s Gaza plan.
The announcement came amid heightened diplomatic activity in Davos. US envoy Steve Witkoff said progress had been made in Ukraine peace talks as well.
“A lot of progress has been made,” Witkoff said, adding that negotiations were down to “one last issue.”
Witkoff was expected to travel to Moscow with US envoy Jared Kushner for talks with Putin on a possible Ukraine settlement, the use of frozen Russian assets for reconstruction, and Trump’s Board of Peace proposal.
Greenland
Putin also addressed Trump’s push to acquire Greenland, saying the issue was not Russia’s concern.
“Greenland’s ownership is not our concern,” Putin said, adding that the United States and Denmark should resolve the matter between themselves.
While Moscow has watched Washington’s growing rift with Europe over Greenland with interest, Putin said Russia was focused on broader security and diplomatic priorities rather than the dispute.