The Kremlin said it aimed to “clarify all the nuances” of the proposal from Washington.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has been invited to join US President Donald Trump’s Peace Commission, which is said to be aimed at resolving global conflicts and overseeing the governance and reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.
The invitation, revealed on Monday, was extended as Russia’s nearly four-year war against Ukraine continues and a peace deal remains elusive. President Trump has been pushing for an end to the war, vowing a year ago that he would end it within 24 hours of taking office. The war of attrition is intensifying on the ground, and peace negotiations are continuing, but their momentum is slowing once again.
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The White House is encouraging interested parties around the world to join a peace commission chaired by Trump himself.
“President Putin also received an invitation to participate in this peace committee,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday.
He said Russia wanted to “clarify all the nuances” of the proposal with Washington, without saying whether Putin was willing to participate.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, an ally of President Putin, was also reportedly invited by President Trump to join the group.
For years, Moscow has sought to balance its relations with all major countries in the Middle East, including Israel and the Palestinians.
But since the start of Israel’s more than two-year genocidal war in the Gaza Strip and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Putin has distanced himself from Israel and strengthened ties with adversaries such as Iran.
Moscow has also sought closer ties with Gulf Arab states amid growing isolation in the West.
President Putin has previously praised President Trump’s efforts to resolve the conflict.
“He is really making a lot of efforts to resolve these complex crises that have been going on for years, even decades,” Putin said in October.
Referring to the situation in the Middle East, Putin said: “If Donald succeeds in achieving everything he has strived for, it will be a historic event.”
The attack on Ukraine and the war in Gaza have strained Moscow’s traditionally good relations with Israel, which is home to a large Russian-born community.
The Kremlin has repeatedly criticized Israel’s war in Gaza and called for restraint.
“The Gaza Strip is experiencing a humanitarian catastrophe in the fullest sense,” Putin said in a meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in May, RIA Novosti news agency reported.
“Russia, as a friend of the Palestinian people, seeks to provide regular assistance,” the Russian president added.
The Peace Commission, which is expected to carry out President Trump’s 20-point plan to end Israel’s war in Gaza, is a three-tier governance structure made up of representatives from around the world, including the United States, Europe and Arab countries.
But by putting President Trump, pro-Israel officials such as U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and regionally polarizing figures such as former British Prime Minister Tony Blair at the top, it has been criticized by experts for potentially relegating Palestinians to third-class status in local government roles and marginalizing Palestinian political institutions in favor of a commercialized “neo-colonial” model of governance.
