Close allies had a tepid response on Monday to U.S. President Donald Trump’s invite to a permanent seat at his “Board of Peace” in exchange for a $1 billion payment, with analysts comparing the idea to a pay-to-play alternative to the U.N. Security Council.
The White House has asked various world leaders to sit on the board, chaired by Trump himself, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Hungarian premier Viktor Orban and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
The board's charter, seen by AFP, says that member countries. represented on the board by their head of state or government. would be allowed to join for three years or longer if they paid more than $1.0 billion within the first year.
The initial reaction from two key allies, France and Canada, was lukewarm.
France "does not intend to answer favorably" to its invitation, a source close to President Emmanuel Macron told AFP on Monday, noting that the board's charter goes beyond rebuilding and running post-war Gaza, which was the initial purpose of the board. In fact, the charter does not mention Gaza.
