Mike Baker

Morocco, Pakistan, Indonesia, Paraguay, and Vietnam have all agreed to participate.

There's also a symbolic element here.

Armenia and Azerbaijan accepted invitations following a U.S.-brokered peace agreement last year, something the administration points to as an example of what the board could help lock in.

But I want to point out a controversial sign-on, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko signaling what appears to be a tentative thaw in relations between Washington and Minsk, despite Belarus' backing of Russia's war in Ukraine.

As for Russia and China, well, if I'm starting a board of peace, I would love to have one of the early members be Vladimir Putin.

Who likes peace better than Putin?

For now, both Russia and China remain on the sidelines.

Neither has said whether it will participate, and both are veto-wielding members, of course, of the UN Security Council.

That's a status that makes them wary of any initiative that could dilute their influence inside an existing system.

At the same time, not all U.S.

allies are on board.

Norway and Sweden declined to join.

Italy raised constitutional concerns that participation in a body led by a single foreign leader could violate domestic law.

France also plans to decline the invitation, and Canada has agreed in principle but says key details are still being worked out.

Ukrainian President Zelensky, well, he's questioning how his country could sit on a board that might include Russia.

Don't worry, I'm sure Russia will at some point take your board seat.

And Britain, Germany, and Japan have yet to take clear positions.

It's also worth being clear about what authority the board has and where its limits are.

While the Board of Peace is a Trump-led initiative, it does carry a UN mandate of sorts.

In November, the Security Council...