JAKARTA - President Donald Trump confirmed that he had invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to join the US-proposed Gaza Peace Council.
The council is part of Trump's 20-point plan to end the Israel-Hamas war and is expected to temporarily oversee Gaza's management and manage its reconstruction.
Asked on Monday whether he had invited President Putin to join the Peace Council, President Trump told reporters in Florida: "Yes, they are world leaders. The answer is yes, I have invited him," he said, quoted by the BBC (20/1).
Earlier, the Kremlin said on Monday that the Russian president had accepted the offer. Neither Moscow nor President Trump has said whether Putin has accepted it.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow "is currently studying all the details of this offer".
"We hope to be able to contact the US to clarify all aspects," he said.
Washington is known to have invited various world leaders to sit on the council.
The Peace Council will consist of world leaders, with President Trump as its chairman, according to the White House. However, the structure of the council is still unclear and members are still invited.
The White House's overture to President Putin comes as Russia has yet to accept a US-backed peace deal aimed at ending its four-year-old offensive against Ukraine.
In addition to the Gaza Peace Council, the White House also officially launched two separate senior councils: the "Gaza Executive Council", which is responsible for all work on the ground in Gaza, and the "Founding Executive Council", which will focus on investment and high-level diplomacy.
Former British Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner are among those listed as US President's choices for the founding council.
So far, there has been no Palestinian name included in the senior council.
Separately, Israel has voiced objections to the proposed council, saying it was not consulted on its functions and composition.
Reports suggest President Trump wants the council to be formally endorsed by world leaders during a special ceremony at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, this weekend.
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