Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has said the UK will not yet be signing up to US President Donald Trump's Board of Peace over concerns about Russian leader Vladimir Putin's possible participation.
Cooper told the BBC the UK had been invited to join the board but won't be one of the signatories today at a ceremony at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
The board, which gives Trump wide decision-making powers as chairman, is being billed by the US as a new international organisation for resolving conflicts.
Cooper described the board as a legal treaty that raises much broader issues than the initiative's initial focus on ending the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
The charter proposed by the White House does not mention the Palestinian territory and critics say the board appears to be designed to replace some functions of the United Nations.
Some of the US's traditional allies have not agreed to join the board and notably, none of the other permanent members of the UN Security Council - China, France, Russia, and the UK - have committed to participation so far.
But launching the board at a signing ceremony alongside world leaders in Davos, Trump said he did not intend it as a replacement for the UN and expressed his belief that it would help forge an everlasting peace in the Middle East.
Trump said the board had the chance to be one of the most consequential bodies ever created and emphasized a commitment to ensuring Gaza's reconstruction.
However, concerns remain over Putin's potential role in the peace initiative, with Cooper stating that there have been no signs of a commitment to peace in Ukraine from the Russian leader.
As tensions rise, the UK continues to support Ukraine and aims to play a role in global discussions aimed at fostering peace.
