The Latest: Davos closes as Trump's diplomacy shifts to fresh Ukraine talks

DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump used the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, to unveil a proposed “ Board of Peace ” for Gaza, bringing leaders from more than a dozen countries onstage Thursday, although many top American allies aren’t participating in the board.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, meanwhile, scolded European allies for what he described as a slow and fragmented response to Russia’s invasion, likening it to the movie “Groundhog Day” where the main character endlessly relives the same day.

Elon Musk also drew chuckles in his Davos debut, riffing on the difference between Trump’s Board of Peace and the U.S. taking a “piece” of Greenland and Venezuela.

Attention now shifts from the Swiss Alps to the United Arab Emirates, where trilateral meetings involving the U.S., Ukraine and Russia are set to begin Friday. Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner are expected for talks in Moscow later Thursday.

Here is the latest:

Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen on Thursday voiced guarded relief but he said he knew no concrete details of the agreement Trump cited for Arctic security.

“’I don’t know what there is in the agreement, or the deal about my country,” Nielsen told reporters, calling Greenland’s sovereignty a “red line.”

Much about the potential deal remained unclear, though Trump said in a Fox Business interview that “we’re going to have total access to Greenland.” He added that “we’re going to have all the military access we want.”

▶ Read more about Greenland

Desperate Palestinians at a garbage dump in Gaza are digging with their bare hands for plastic items to burn to keep warm in the cold and damp winter.

“This is our life,” said Sanaa Salah, who lives in a tent with her husband and six kids. “We do not sleep at night from the cold.”

The scene contrasts starkly with the vision for the territory projected by world leaders inaugurating Trump’s Board of Peace, which will oversee war-battered Gaza.

Trump claimed in Davos this week that “record levels” of humanitarian aid had entered Gaza since a U.S.-brokered ceasefire started in October. His envoys triumphantly touted the territory’s development potential.

While aid flows have significantly increased, Gaza residents say fuel and firewood are in short supply. Prices are exorbitant and searching for firewood is dangerous. Two 13-year-old boys were shot and killed by Israeli forces on Wednesday as they tried to collect firewood, hospital officials said.

Israel has killed more than 470 people in Gaza since the truce began.

Musk said Tesla is hoping to get approval from European regulators for drivers to use its partial self-driving software by next month, a significant development that could help reverse a sales plunge.

Musk had previously promised European approval in the first few months of last year.

Tesla sales have fallen hard in Europe as Chinese and European electric vehicle makers have introduced new, appealing models and customers boycotted his brand due to his embrace of far right-wing politicians.

At the start of Musk’s session, the tycoon joked about attending the Davos meeting because of Trump’s Board of Peace.

“I heard about the formation of the peace summit, and I was like, is that p-i-e-c? You know, a little piece of Greenland, a little piece of Venezuela,” he said, laughing.

“All we want is peace,” he added to quiet chuckles from the audience.

Still, the Ukrainian president said the issue of land in the country’s war-torn east remains “the most difficult” during his discussions with the U.S.

“This is the issue we cannot solve yet,” he said.

Zelenskyy believes the two days of trilateral meetings in the United Arab Emirates, beginning Friday, will be “positive.”

The meetings will include the national security advisers of the U.S., Ukraine and Russia, the Ukrainian president said.

He also said the document covering security guarantees for Ukraine has been completed. The bilateral deal with the U.S. and Ukraine, however, would only come into effect if Russia agrees to end the war.

As the conversation turned to artificial intelligence and the massive energy demands that come with it, Musk critiqued Trump’s trade policy.

“Unfortunately in the U.S., the tariff barriers for solar (panels) are extremely high,” Musk said.

“And that makes the economics of deploying solar artificially high, because China makes almost all the solar and the tech,” he said.

Musk predicted that robots would transform society and would help humanity by reducing the need for human work — an idea he has touched on in the past. He predicted that one day robots will end up manufacturing more robots.

“There will be such an abundance of goods and services because,” he said. “There’ll be more robots than people.”

He added that “everyone on Earth” is going to want a robot to take care of older parents or children. He said Tesla will begin selling robots to the public by the end of next year.

Musk, whose companies include Tesla, SpaceX and Starlink, says their goal is to “maximize the probability that civilization has a great future.”

He kicked off his Davos address with a high-level overview of his companies, talking about robotics, artificial intelligence, sustainable technology and making life “multiplanetary.”

Zelenskyy said Europe needs to know how to defend itself properly and the recent troop deployment to Greenland was not a serious military build-up.

“You either declare that European bases will protect the region from Russia and China and establish those bases,” the Ukrainian president said, “or you risk not being taken seriously, because 30 or 40 soldiers will not protect anything.”

Zelenskyy also offered Ukraine’s expertise to help defend the Arctic.

Musk has taken the main stage in his debut appearance at Davos.

“We’re gonna make this interesting,” the billionaire and former top Trump advisor said.

Musk’s session was billed as “a conversation” moderated by the forum’s interim co-chair, who encouraged the crowd to applaud more enthusiastically for the billionaire.

Bar-Yaacov, an international lawyer and expert in conflict resolution, described the Board of Peace’s initial concept for redeveloping the Gaza Strip as “totally unrealistic” and an indication that Trump views the project as a real estate developer, not a peacemaker.

A project with so many high-rise buildings would never be acceptable because each one would provide a clear view of Israeli military bases near the border, she said.

Bar-Yaacov also expressed concern that the board seems to give greatest weight to the rich and powerful, rather than multi-lateral cooperation.

The composition of Trump’s Board of Peace does not bode well for the project’s success, said Nomi Bar-Yaacov, an international lawyer and expert in conflict resolution.

Among the troubling signs are the likely inclusions of Netanyahu and Putin, Bar-Yaacov told the AP.

“Both of them have been indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court,” she said. “So what kind of a board of peace is this?’’

Zelenskyy says Russia’s repeated targeting of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure was an effort to cause blackouts in Ukraine during the harshest winter the country has faced in years.

“This is the face of Russia,” Zelensky said.

He said while Ukraine is now able to produce thousands of interceptor drones per day, it is not enough to defend against the number of drones and missiles Russia uses against Ukraine.

Zelenskyy has announced two days of trilateral meetings between the U.S., Ukraine and Russia in the Emirates starting Friday.

The trilateral meetings will follow the American negotiating team’s visit to Moscow the day before.

“Russians have to be ready for compromises because, you know, everybody has to be ready, not only Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said, “and this is important for us.”

Zelenskyy has delivered strong words criticizing European leaders on the continent’s security.

“Just last year, here in Davos, I ended my speech with the words: Europe needs to know how to defend itself. A year has passed. And nothing has changed. We are still in a situation where I must say the same words again,” he said in a speech at Davos.

He added that Europe needs to “act now,” referencing the film “Groundhog Day.”

The war in Ukraine approaches the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

Zelenskyy said documents for a deal to end the war in Ukraine are “nearly, nearly ready.”

Some of the documents seek security guarantees, while others cover economic plans for the future of Ukraine.

Zelenskyy has called his meeting with Trump “productive and substantive” in a post Thursday on social media.

The Ukrainian president said on X that he and Trump spoke about air defense for Ukraine. Zelenskyy also wrote that he thanked the U.S. leader for the previous package of air defense missiles, while asking for an additional one.

“Our previous meeting with President Trump helped strengthen the protection of our skies, and I hope that this time we will reinforce it further as well,” he said.

Trump is leaving Davos, but bad weather kept his helicopter grounded, meaning he faces a drive from the mountain town to Air Force One that could take as long as two hours.

The U.S. and Ukrainian leaders were together for about an hour in what Trump described to reporters as a good meeting.

The Russia-Ukraine war “has to end,” Trump said, adding, “We hope it’s going to end.”

“I think the meeting was good,” he said. U.S. representatives will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday.

“We’re going to have total access to Greenland,” Trump said in a Fox Business interview with Maria Bartiromo. “We’re going to have all the military access we want.”

Trump said the deal, if completed, will also allow for the U.S. to install an element of his “Golden Dome,” part of a multibillion dollar missile defense system, on the Danish territory.

The president on Wednesday scrapped the tariffs that he threatened to impose on eight European nations to press for U.S. control over Greenland after he said he came to an agreement with the head of NATO on a “framework of a future deal” on Arctic security.

A meeting between President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President Donald Trump has ended, Ukrainian presidential spokesman Serhii Nykyforov said.

The meeting between the two leaders at Davos lasted about an hour.

“They had a brief one-on-one conversation at the end,” Nykyforov added.

Zelenskyy’s media adviser Dmytro Lytvyn said: “We didn’t count how long the meeting lasted, but it was good.”

The two leaders stayed off camera, and there was no photo op nor questions taken.

The Ukrainian president passed reporters on his way into a meeting with Trump at the World Economic Forum.

Trump said earlier today that ending the Russia-Ukraine war remains a priority.

“We’re working to end the horrible killing in Ukraine,” Trump said at the launch of his Board of Peace.

U.S. representatives will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin later Thursday, Trump said after the event.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr has arrived at the Congress Center ahead of his panel discussion.

He walked past the media without answering questions.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday hosted Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Moscow for talks.

The Russian leader noted that “back in 1988, the Soviet Union recognized the Palestinian state, and we maintain the same position today.”

“Our approach to the issues of Palestine and the Middle East settlement is principled, not opportunistic. We believe that only forming and proper functioning of the Palestinian state can lead to a final settlement of the Middle East conflict,” Putin said.

Putin said the two will discuss the situation in Gaza and “on the Israeli-Palestinian track,” including Trump’s Board of Peace.

Moscow is considering an invitation to join, according to Putin, who has proposed sending $1 billion to the board from Russian assets frozen in the U.S.

“First and foremost in order to support the Palestinian people, allocate these funds for rebuilding Gaza, generally on solving problems of Palestine,” Putin told Abbas.

“I think it is quite possible,” Putin added. “We have discussed such options before with the representatives of the U.S. administration, and today a meeting and a conversation on this topic is planned in Moscow.”

Putin is due to meet Thursday with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

China on Thursday refuted Trump’s claim that it doesn’t use wind power turbines at home while dominating the international market for them.

Trump blasted wind energy in a speech Wednesday in Davos, saying “stupid people” were buying windmills from China, which doesn’t use them at home.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said China had 600 million kilowatts of wind power capacity as of the end of November, adding that Chinese exports of wind and solar power equipment had helped other countries reduce their carbon emissions.

“China’s efforts in addressing climate change and promoting the development and application of global renewable energy are evident to all,” he said in Beijing.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office and the Israeli military did not have immediate comment on the possible opening of the Rafah crossing.

Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law who has been involved in Middle East negotiations, gave a slide deck presentation at the Board of Peace launch that included real estate development plans by zones.

“We do not have a plan B,” Kushner said, adding that people in Middle East build cities in two or three years.

Trump, during his closing remarks, noted his own experiences in real estate.

He described Gaza as “this beautiful piece of property” and suggested his push for peace between Israel and Hamas “all began with the location.”

Ali Shaath, head of new technocratic government in Gaza, announced the Rafah border crossing will open in both directions next week.

Israel said in early December it would open the crossing between Gaza and Egypt, but has yet to do so.

Shaath spoke by video message to leaders at the forum.

The U.S. secretary of state praised the Board of Peace as “a group of leaders that is about action” and credited Trump for bringing it together.

“He’s not limited by some of the things that have happened in the past, and he’s willing to talk to or engage with anyone in the interest of peace,” Rubio said.

Rubio stressed the body’s job “first and foremost” is “making sure that this peace deal in Gaza becomes enduring.”

Then, Rubio said, it can look elsewhere.

With details of the board’s operations still unclear, Rubio described it is a work in progress.

“Many others who are going to join, you know, others either are not in town today or they have to go through some procedure internally in their own countries, in their own country, because of constitutional limitations, but others will join,” Rubio said.

Trump inaugurated his newly created Board of Peace with a handful of founding members but offered few details about its mandate and how the panel will work or might pursue efforts to end global conflicts.

Trump hailed the board as “something very, very unique for the world.”

Speaking at a ceremony to sign the board’s charter, Trump said it could work with the United Nations to resolve wars not only in the Middle East, where the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza was the genesis of the concept.

But he did not provide specifics about how the board would cooperate with the U.N.

A number of countries, many of them close U.S. allies, have expressed concerns Trump might want the board to supplant or rival the U.N. and have either refused to sign on or remained noncommittal.

The U.S. president concluded his remarks and he and leaders from Board of Peace nations are signing documents.

The White House billed the ceremony as a sort of charter launch, but no charter draft has been publicly released. Nor is a complete membership list clear yet.

Some invitees are still considering whether to join.

Trump reaffirmed the Board of Peace will start with a focus on Gaza but then look globally.

“I think we can spread out to other things as as we succeed with Gaza, we’re going to be very successful in Gaza,” he said, adding, “We can do numerous other things. Once this board is completely formed, we can do pretty much whatever we want to do.

“He promised again to work “in conjunction with the United Nations,” though he still criticized the U.N. for not doing enough historically.

“I think the combination of the Board of Peace with the kind of people we have here, coupled with the United Nations, can be something very, very unique for the world,” Trump said.

The U.S. president says the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza “is really coming to an end” and Hezbollah’s presence in Lebanon amounts to “remnants.”

On Gaza, Trump said, “They’re down to little fires. We can put them out very easily.”

Trump acknowledged Hezbollah remains in Lebanon, but he downplayed the group’s strength.

“These are remnants. I call them remnants,” Trump said.

In his opening remarks praising the launch of his Board of Peace, Trump made a point to mention the United Nations.

He said “many nations” have been part of establishing the body.

Then he added, “We’ll work with many others, including the United Nations.”

Trump has been highly critical of the U.N. and withdrawn the U.S. from multiple international organizations, and he has expressed ambitions recently that the new international board can replicate if not compete with the U.N. as an international broker.

Trump initially billed his Board of Peace focused on Gaza. Then he said it could play alongside the U.N. as a global broker.

But the logo featured at the Davos event depicts North America and only parts of South America.

The White House and State Department in Trump’s second presidency also been highly focused on the Western Hemisphere, complete with Trump dubbing his approach the “Donroe Doctrine” as a play on the Monroe Doctrine established under the fifth U.S. president.

The U.S. president will pitch his new international body with heads of government and top diplomats from multiple continents.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff also are with Trump.

The board initially was billed as part of the peace process for Israel and Gaza but Trump has since expanded his ambitions for the group, saying it can play a role mediating other international conflicts.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz of Germany, one of the European countries that had faced Trump’s threat of tariffs over Greenland, said he supports talks between Denmark, Greenland and the U.S. but reaffirmed the Danish kingdom’s sovereignty.

“It is good news that we are making steps into that right direction,” Merz said at Davos. “I welcome President Trump’s remarks from last night — this is the right way to go.”

Trump’s core foreign policy advisers are expected to join him at the “Board of Peace” event, with Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner in the room alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff.

Witkoff and Kushner have been at the center of multiple international negotiations, with Kushner involved especially in Middle East despite not having an official White House role as he did in the first Trump presidency.

The U.S. president will host presidents, prime ministers and top diplomats from more than a dozen countries to tout his international Board of Peace.

The list of attendees, according to a World Economic Forum schedule, is heavy on the Middle East and South America. But it remains short on major U.S. allies from Europe and the full membership list still isn’t clear.

Among the heads of government: Argentina President Javier Milei and Indonesia President Prabowo Subianto, both Trump allies; Paraguay’s conservative President Santiago Peña; Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev; Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif; Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev.

Pashinyan and Aliyev agreed to their own peace deal at the White House last year.

Attendees also include ministers and diplomats from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Turkey and Morocco, among others.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk is set to speak at Davos on Thursday in a newly scheduled session.

The World Economic Forum, which Musk previously criticized, confirmed it will be the Tesla owner's first time attending the elite event in the Swiss Alps.

His address is billed as a conversation with Laurence Fink, BlackRock’s CEO and interim co-chair of the forum.

Musk is embroiled in a war of words with Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary that began with a dispute over installing Starlink systems on Ryanair planes. O'Leary on Wednesday dismissed the tech titan’s suggestion he would buy the budget airline.

Asian shares mostly advanced on Thursday, tracking Wall Street, after Trump walked back from imposing tariffs on eight European countries over Greenland and ruled out using military force to take control of the territory.

The future for the S&P 500 was up 0.4% on Thursday, while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 0.3%.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 climbed 1.9% to 53,760.85, with technology stocks among those leading the gain. SoftBank Group jumped 11% and chipmaker Tokyo Electron rose 3.7%.

The NATO chief is urging allies to “keep our eyes on the ball of Ukraine” after a standoff over Greenland that rattled the alliance appeared to ease a day earlier.

Rutte, speaking at the Ukraine breakfast, didn’t address a question about whether Greenland, which Trump has coveted, would remain a part of Denmark under the “framework of a future deal” announced by the president.

Rutte noted European plans to free up funds for Ukraine’s defense and U.S.-led talks about a peace deal, but said those efforts wouldn’t bear fruit immediately and Russia continues to launch drone and missile attacks on Ukraine.

“What we need is to keep our eyes on the ball of Ukraine. Let’s not drop that ball,” Rutte said.

Trump wants to spotlight his proposed "Board of Peace" at Davos on Thursday, looking to create momentum for a project that has been overshadowed this week by Greenland.

The new board initially was envisioned as a small group of world leaders overseeing the Gaza ceasefire, but has morphed into something far more ambitious. Skepticism about its membership and mandate has led some traditional U.S. allies to take a pass so far.

Trump expressed confidence in his idea ahead of what the White House said would be a “charter announcement” on the sidelines of the forum in the Swiss Alps.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Thursday that her country can’t negotiate on its sovereignty.

She has been “informed that this has not been the case” following the announcement of a new framework with NATO on Arctic security without the U.S. using force to take over Greenland.

In a statement, the Danish leader said security in the Arctic is a matter for all of NATO and “good and natural” that it be discussed between the U.S. president and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

Frederiksen said she has spoken with Rutte “on an ongoing basis,” including before and after he met Trump in Davos.