Trump touts launch of Board of Peace initiative
By: Kim Hjelmgaard
and Fancesca Chambers
USA Today
..... President Donald Trump wrapped up a high-profile trip to the World Economic Forum international summit January 22 [2026] touting the launch of a yet-to-be-defined peace initiative and success in expanding the U.S. footprint in Greenland.
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He told Fox News Business anchor Maria Bartiromo that the United States will have "total access" to Greenland as a result of a deal he said he negotiated, and will build as many military bases a sit wants on the Arctic island.
..... The framework is still being worked out, Trump said, but "we're getting everything we want at no cost."
..... He conceded the United States may not end up formally acquiring the Danish territory, which he has previously insisted upon. "Well, I don't know if I could say that, but it could be. It's possible. Anything's possible," Trump said of U.S. ownership.
..... The emerging agreement that Trump said he brokered on January 21 [2026] with NATO's secretary general in Davos, Switzerland, represents a stunning climbdown for the U.S. resident, who used his address at the summit to berate allies.
..... After inflaming tensions with NATO partners, Trump held a ceremony signing the Board of Peace with leaders from Azerbaijan, Argentina, Indonesia, Qatar and Kosovo. The only European leader on the board was Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
..... Trump has said that Russian President Vladimir Putin has accepted an invitation to join the board. Russia's government has not confirmed that.
..... Trump said the board has the potential to be "one of the most consequential bodies," though it wasn't clear what specific function the board will have or under whose authority it might act. he said it would work in conjunction with the United Nations.
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The peace board was initially aimed at helping end the two-year war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip as well as overseeing the reconstruction of the Palestinian enclave. However, a leaked charter does not appear to mention the territory and suggests the board may have some overlap with the U.N. and its specialized agencies.
..... "We can do pretty much whatever we want to do," trump said onstage.
..... He suggested during the presentation that a peace settlement for Russia's war in Ukraine was "coming very soon." Ukrainian officials did not immediate return a request for comment.
..... Trump concluded the signing ceremony by talking about Gaza.
..... "I'm a real estate person at heart, and it's all about location, and I said look at this location on the sea," he said. "Look at this beautiful piece of property, whit it could be for so many people."
..... Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke privately shortly before the signing for about in hour, the White House said.
..... Zelenskyy had said he would travel to Davos only if he could sign agreements with Trump on U.S. security guarantees and postwar reconstruction funding, but there was no indication that a breakthrough had been made.
..... Contributing: Reuters