Putin offers to pay $1 billion to Trumpʼs “Board of Peace” from frozen Russian assets

Putin proposed transferring $1 billion in contributions to the "Board of Peace", which is supposed to oversee the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, using Russian assets frozen in the United States.

Russian media is writing about this.

At the same time, the Kremlin has not yet officially made a decision on Russiaʼs participation in US President Donald Trumpʼs "Board of Peace". According to Putin, the Russian Foreign Ministry has been instructed to first study the proposals for the councilʼs work and hold consultations with partners.

At the same time, given the "special relations of the Russian Federation with the Palestinian people", Putin has proposed to allocate $1 billion to the "Board of Peace" now, even before the decision on membership is made. He wants to transfer these funds using Russian assets frozen in the United States.

Bloomberg, citing sources, reported that Donald Trumpʼs administration is requiring countries wishing to gain permanent membership in his new "Board of Peace" to make a contribution of $1 billion.

Putin also said that the remaining frozen funds could be used to restore territories in Ukraine after a peace treaty is signed, a possibility that the Russian side is allegedly discussing with representatives of the US administration.

Putin plans to discuss these issues with US Presidentʼs special envoy Stephen Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who are due to arrive in Moscow today, January 22.

Donald Trumpʼs "Board of Peace": What is known

On September 30, 2025, a new 20-point peace plan was presented in Washington, which envisages an end to the war in the Gaza Strip. It provides, in particular, for the creation of a "Board of Peace" headed by the US President and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, an amnesty for Hamas, and the status of a "de-radicalized zone that will not pose a threat to its neighbors" for Gaza.

On January 19, it was reported that Trump had invited Putin to the “Board of Peace”. The Kremlin said it was studying the offer. On the same day, Trump also invited Lukashenko. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also received an invitation from Donald Trump to join the “Board of Peace”, he said during a conversation with reporters.

Ukrainian diplomats are currently processing the invitation. But Zelensky stressed that it is "difficult for him to imagine how Ukraine could be in this or that council", to which Putin and self-proclaimed Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko have also been invited.

At the same time, Norway and France refused to join the "Board of Peace". The Norwegian Foreign Ministry stated that most European states cannot be part of a structure that "questions the role of NATO and existing international law".

The Financial Times, citing sources, reported that the US has a proposal to expand the mandate of the “Board of Peace” to Ukraine and Venezuela. One source said that the Trump administration sees the “Board of Peace” as a kind of replacement for the UN to resolve conflicts in the world.

On Wednesday, January 21, the BBC reported that seven more countries, including Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Egypt, had agreed to join the "Board of Peace". In total, more than ten states have already confirmed their participation in the new structure.

Meanwhile, Canada and the United Kingdom, which also received an invitation, have not yet publicly responded. The UAE, Bahrain, Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Israel, and Vietnam have already joined the Peace Council.

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