Denmark was not among the nations to be offered a seat on US President Donald Trump’s proposed ‘Board of Peace’, Politico reported Thursday. Copenhagen previously rebuffed the American leader’s bid to purchase Greenland.
Washington announced that the official launch of the panel would take place on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday. Several traditional US allies, including France, Sweden, and Norway, have publicly rejected invitations to join, drawing a rebuke from Trump. Copenhagen never received an invitation, a Danish diplomat told Politico anonymously.
In a speech at Davos on Wednesday, Trump called Denmark a small country that fails to spend enough to protect Greenland. He said the US was “stupid” to accept Danish sovereignty over Greenland after World War II and that Denmark was “ungrateful” in resisting US advances. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is attempting to mediate a deal to resolve the dispute.
Politico reported that several traditionally pro-US European nations are privately opposing the proposed board. Italy, the UK, and Poland may also reject it for various reasons, including Trump’s invitation to Russian President Vladimir Putin to participate.
Critics say the board’s draft charter extends its mandate beyond overseeing a Gaza transition under a US-mediated Israel-Hamas deal and grants disproportionate power to the chair – a role Trump would hold, potentially for life.
On Wednesday, Putin said Russia is willing to contribute $1 billion from its assets immobilized in the West to fund the council, provided it acts to “solve the immediate problems of the Palestinian people and resolve acute humanitarian problems in Gaza.” He added that Moscow views resolving the Palestinian conflict in line with UN goals as paramount.
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