Putin's intention to join Trump's Peace Council, behind the appearance of compromise, is it a big move?

the United States has formed a "Peace Council," and many countries have sneered at it. There is one person who seems especially unlikely, showing interest in joining this peace council: Russian President Putin.

According to Xinhua News on January 21, Russian President Putin stated during the regular meeting of the Russian Federation Security Council that Russia had received an invitation from Trump regarding joining the Peace Council, and ordered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to study it.

(Putin instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to study the feasibility of joining Trump's Peace Council)

This seems to go against people's conventional understanding. One is the relationship between Russia and the United States, which has always been in two opposing positions. Although due to Trump's 28-point peace plan for Ukraine-Russia in 2025, Russia felt some attention from the United States towards its interests, leading to a slight improvement in relations between the two countries. However, as the plan ran into a deadlock, the United States announced that after the war, it would establish a security force in Ukraine, proposed new sanctions against Russia, and even seized Russian tankers, leading to a return of relations to their previous state.

Therefore, Putin's invitation from Trump and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' serious consideration of whether to join is indeed surprising.

Even more unusual is that Putin also made concessions to the United States regarding the use of frozen assets.

Frozen assets were a sanction by the West against Russia after the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, freezing Russia's overseas assets. From Russia's perspective, this was equivalent to directly stealing money, a violation of the bottom line, which further deepened the conflict between Russia and the West.

Europe planned to hold a meeting in December 2025 to discuss whether to use Russia's frozen assets in Europe to aid Ukraine. As a result, the spokesperson for the Russian president, Peskov, immediately said, "Whoever dares to touch Russia's money will be wanted globally."

Europe ultimately did not dare to use it.

(The proposal by EU President von der Leyen and Mertz to use frozen Russian assets to aid Ukraine, which ultimately failed to pass the EU meeting)

But this time, Putin gave way to the United States, stating that considering the basic construction and survival supplies in Gaza, before Russia decides whether to join the Peace Council, Putin is willing to first allocate $1 billion from the assets frozen by the Biden administration in the United States to the Peace Council. He also stated that once peace is achieved between Russia and Ukraine, the remaining frozen assets can be used for regional reconstruction.

It is worth noting that the amount of $1 billion mentioned by Putin coincides with the "ticket price" set by Trump for the Peace Council. Earlier, Trump said that any country that pays $1 billion can become a permanent member of the Peace Council.

Although it has not yet been confirmed whether it will join, the positive attitude Putin has shown by allowing the use of funds is even somewhat of a concession to the United States, which is indeed very unusual.

Why is this happening?

The reason may be that Putin is playing a big move, because this seemingly absurd organization, the Peace Council, if used properly, could also be an opportunity to counterbalance America's global hegemony.

Let us first briefly look at the nature of the Peace Council. First, Trump is the chairman, and his term is unlimited, with no clauses that can shake his position as chairman. Moreover, the founding executive committee consists of seven people, including the U.S. Secretary of State, the U.S. President's special envoy, and Trump's son-in-law, all close to Trump. The committee adopts a chairman invitation system, meaning that only those invited by Trump can join, and the term is only three years, after which Trump approves whether they can continue. If they want to become a permanent member, they must pay $1 billion.

(Trump said his Peace Council might replace the United Nations)

Moreover, on January 20, Trump also mocked the United Nations, saying that the United Nations had never done anything to his satisfaction, and that his Peace Council might replace the United Nations.

In short, this committee is "Trump's palace."

If Russia really joins, what will happen?

First, Russia and the United States will stand in the same order. Although Trump has absolute control over the Peace Council and has repeatedly done things that undermine peace, the Peace Council's goal is to maintain peace in Gaza and other regions, and does not involve the development and relations between member states. For Russia, joining first provides an opportunity and allows it to gain another voice to balance American power. In addition, it will not have any adverse effects on itself, except for consuming frozen assets.

The amount of frozen assets is worth noting, because the amount of Russian assets frozen by the United States is only $50 billion, which is a risk that Russia can afford, and it also gains the reputation of spending on peace and reconstruction.

(Saudi Arabia and some other Middle Eastern countries officially announced their participation in the Peace Council)

Secondly, the Middle East issue. Russia itself has complex interests in the Middle East, and is a key factor in balancing American power in the region. With the announcement on January 21 by Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, and other Middle Eastern countries to join the Peace Council, Russia may begin to consider that if this Peace Council can bring stability to Palestine-Israel, even just maintaining the surface, the major threat for Russia would only be the United States using the excuse of undermining peace to exclude Russian influence from the Middle East. But if Russia joins, the United States will have no such reason.

Finally, the Ukraine issue. If Russia really joins, Zelensky may have no choice but to comply with the US's demands. Trump is hoping that Zelensky will "stop the fighting" based on the current situation. This is beneficial for Russia, because following Trump's wishes, and both being members of the Peace Council, the United States would have to focus on helping Russia in the issue of peace between Russia and Ukraine. Especially since Putin expressed willingness to use frozen funds for the reconstruction of war-affected areas.

Therefore, Putin's decision to conduct research is not just a gesture of goodwill, but likely involves complex interests and strategic considerations. When the real decision is made, it may also reveal the new direction of Russia-US relations.

Original: toutiao.com/article/7598092622736917007/

Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.