Trump to charge $1bn for 'peace board' membership

US President Donald Trump's government has asked countries to pay $1bn for a permanent spot on his "Board of Peace" aimed at resolving conflicts, according to its charter, seen today by AFP.

The White House has asked various world leaders to sit on the board, chaired by Mr Trump himself, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Hungarian premier Viktor Orban and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.

Member countries - represented on the board by their head of state - would be allowed to join for three years - or longer if they paid more than $1bn within the first year, the charter said.

"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 board's draft charter said.

"The three-year membership term shall not apply to member states that contribute more than $1bn in cash funds to the Board of Peace within the first year of the charter's entry into force."

Board originally conceived to oversee rebuilding of Gaza

The board was originally conceived to oversee the rebuilding of Gaza, but its charter does not appear to limit its role to the occupied Palestinian territory.

The White House said there would be a main board, a Palestinian committee of technocrats meant to govern devastated Gaza, and a second "executive board" that appears designed to have a more advisory role.

"The Board of Peace is an international organisation that seeks to promote stability, restore dependable and lawful governance, and secure enduring peace in areas affected or threatened by conflict," the charter said.

It appears to take a swipe at international institutions such as the United Nations, saying that the board should have "the courage to depart from approaches and institutions that have too often failed".

Mr Trump has regularly criticised the United Nations and announced this month that his country will withdraw from 66 global organisations and treaties - roughly half affiliated with the UN.

France says committed to UN charter in response to invitation

France reaffirmed its commitment to the United Nations charter after being invited to join the peace board, its foreign ministry said.

The ministry said in a statement it was reviewing the proposal of the new body "whose project extends beyond the situation in Gaza", while it "reiterates its attachment to the United Nations charter (which) remains the cornerstone of effective multilateralism".

Membership of the board would be "limited to states invited to participate by the chairman," according to the draft charter.

Mr Trump would have the power to remove member states from the board, subject to a veto by two-thirds of the members, and choose his replacement should he leave his role as chairman.

Details of board being examined, says McEntee

Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee said details of the board, which Ireland has also been invited to join, are being examined.

Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland programme, she said the intention of the board was to focus on Gaza and this must remain the case because the situation there remains "dire".

However the board now appears to have a very wide remit, the minister said, and this must be examined.

She pointed out that the UN Security Council already has a mandate to provide security and peace across the globe and another structure that mirrors that is unnecessary.

"We cannot, I believe, have a situation where we have another structure that mirrors that, where one country essentially has most of the power in it. So we need to consider this. We need to look at this very carefully," Minister McEntee said.

The "Board of Peace" began to take shape on Saturday when the leaders of Egypt, Turkey, Argentina and Canada were asked to join.

Today, ⁠the Kremlin said that Mr Putin had been invited to join. Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko has also been invited to join the board.

Mr Lukashenko ⁠had "welcomed" the ⁠invitation, said a spokesperson for the country's foreign ministry.

Earlier Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said he would join the board after accepting an invitation to do so and wants to contribute to bringing about a stable Middle East peace, his spokesperson said.

Mr Trump also named as members US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, former British prime minister Tony Blair, senior US negotiator Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Israel has objected to the line-up of a "Gaza executive board" to operate under the body, which includes Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Qatari diplomat Ali Al-Thawadi.