Putin Offers $1B from Frozen Russian Assets for Gaza Peace Process

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia is prepared to allocate $1 billion from its frozen assets in the United States to support a proposed international mechanism for post-war governance and reconstruction in Gaza, while stressing that Moscow has not yet decided whether it will formally join the initiative.

Putin made the remarks on January 21 during a meeting with permanent members of Russia’s Security Council, confirming receipt of a personal invitation from U.S. President Donald Trump to join a newly proposed “Peace Council.” He said Russia would respond only after consultations with its strategic partners.

“Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been instructed to review the documents received, consult our strategic partners on this matter, and only after that will we be able to provide a response to the invitation conveyed to us,” Putin said in a televised address.

Despite the undecided position, Putin said Moscow could commit funding immediately. “Even before we decide on the issue of participation in the composition and work of the ‘Peace Council’, taking into account Russia’s special relations with the Palestinian people, we could, I believe, allocate 1 billion U.S. dollars from Russian assets frozen under the previous U.S. administration,” he said, according to a statement released by the Russian Embassy in the U.S.

Putin said the initiative must aim for a long-term settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict based on existing United Nations decisions, with Gaza’s humanitarian situation at the center of the process.

His remarks came hours after Trump told reporters at the World Economic Forum in Davos that Putin had already accepted the invitation. “He was invited. He’s accepted,” Trump said following talks with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

The White House said at least 35 leaders have agreed to join the U.S.-backed body, including Israel, Saudi Arabia, the U.A.E., Egypt, Qatar, Jordan and Bahrain, along with NATO members Turkey and Hungary. Other participants named by the U.S. include Morocco, Pakistan, Indonesia, Kosovo, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Paraguay, Vietnam, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Belarus.

Initially conceived as a small group focused on Gaza, the initiative—now referred to by U.S. officials as a “Board of Peace”—has expanded into a broader platform intended to address multiple global conflicts.

Putin also said remaining frozen Russian assets in the U.S. could be used to rebuild areas affected by fighting in Ukraine after a peace agreement is reached, adding that the proposal is under discussion with U.S. officials.

He said he plans to discuss both Gaza and Ukraine with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who are due in Moscow on January 22.