Lithuania will first consult with its Nordic and Baltic partners before deciding whether to join US President Donald Trump’s proposed “Board of Peace”, President Gitanas Nausėda said Wednesday.
In a telephone interview with the news website 15min.lt, Nausėda confirmed he has received an informal invitation to join the board, which Trump announced this week.
“It’s not entirely formalised. But, to be honest, the situation here is changing every day, so we may receive a formal invitation,” Nausėda said.
He noted that some countries whose participation “seems a bit grotesque”, including Belarus, have agreed to take part, while Lithuania’s position remains under review.
“We are not refusing to consider it. We have received certain informal signals regarding the desire or unwillingness to join,” Nausėda said. “We will decide on these issues in consultation with our partners, primarily the NB8 partners.”
Nausėda spoke after Trump’s address to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. He said the US president emphasised the importance of NATO while insisting that alliance members share costs more fairly.
“In other words, NATO will not only survive, but, I hope, will be strengthened,” Nausėda said in a video commentary released by the presidential press service. “We will just have to adapt to this and take on greater responsibility, which we have essentially already done at the Hague summit and which President Trump also referred to.”
“This means that we have every opportunity to keep this organisation, which is vitally important to us, functioning and alive,” he added.
The Nordic-Baltic Eight, known as the NB8, includes Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia.
Earlier Wednesday, Norway’s government said it would not join the Board of Peace, citing unresolved questions about the US proposal that require further dialogue.
The Board of Peace is envisioned as an institution for resolving international conflicts, with permanent membership costing up to $1 billion, or about 860 million euros. The initiative was initially conceived to oversee the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, though its charter does not appear to limit its mandate to that territory. Critics warn the initiative may undermine existing international institutions under the UN.
Trump has also invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to join the board, raising concern among US allies amid Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russia has welcomed the move and sent a senior Putin envoy to Davos to meet with US officials on Ukraine-related issues.
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