Keir Starmer and Putin (IMAGE: X)
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer didn’t hold back on Thursday. He said he’s “obviously” worried about Russian President Vladimir Putin joining Donald Trump’s new “Board of Peace.” Trump claimed Wednesday that Putin had already accepted the invitation, but Putin said he’s just thinking it over for now.
“I obviously have concerns about Putin being on a Board of Peace,” Starmer told Channel 4 News. “He’s waging war on a European country. They’re raining down bombs on Ukraine.”
Starmer also said that the focus shouldn’t shift just because of recent headlines. He pushed for strong cooperation with the Americans and said allies need to stick together to defend and support Ukraine in a war that’s not their fault.
Meanwhile, Putin announced he’s ready to put $1 billion from Russia’s frozen assets toward Trump’s Board of Peace. He also said the rest of these frozen funds could go toward rebuilding areas destroyed in the Russia-Ukraine war—but only after a peace agreement is signed.
As for the Board itself, Trump has invited Putin and a handful of other world leaders, including those from Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Qatar. Putin said Russia’s foreign ministry is looking over the invitation and will talk to strategic partners before making a decision.
So far, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Qatar have accepted. In a joint statement, their foreign ministers, along with the United Arab Emirates, said they’d join Trump’s board and backed his push for peace in Gaza.
Trump first rolled out this Board of Peace idea last September as a way to end the Gaza war. Later, he said the board would take on other conflicts around the world too.
Trump didn’t hold back on Thursday. He called his Board of Peace “one of the most consequential bodies ever created” and said being its chairman was an “enormous honor.”
He talked about teaming up with the U.N., which, in his words, has “tremendous potential.” Put them together, he said, and “they can be something very, very unique for the world.”
Rubio thanked the world leaders in the room and said he hoped even the skeptics would come on board in the end.
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