World Economic Forum highlights: Davos closes as Trump’s diplomacy shifts to fresh Ukraine talks

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 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 devastated 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.”

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and a stream of his followers bumped into a large entourage around Zelenskyy in front of TV cameras. It seemed like two rivers briefly merging, and the two leaders seemed a bit surprised to cross paths at such close distance.

“Good speech?” quipped the black-clad Ukrainian leader to his Indonesian counterpart, who was wearing a traditional black cap.

They exchanged a hearty handshake, and Zelenskyy moved on to deliver his own address.

Amid the hubbub, former France soccer star and Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane slipped by almost incognito. Classic Davos.

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.

The Ukrainian president emerged from a speech in Davos to tell reporters that the finishing touches are being put together.

“We are close with security guarantees. Be honest: the document is ready,” he said in English. “We have questions with the economic package, but I think it’s 90%.”

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.

Elon Musk’s appearance at Davos marks a reversal for the billionaire, who has previously criticized the gathering. In 2023 he trolled the meeting in a series of posts on his social media platform X.

“We shouldn’t be obsessed with WEF/Davos, but they take themselves sooo seriously that making fun of them is awesome,” he wrote in one post.

In another he said the World Economic Forum “is increasingly becoming an unelected world government that the people never asked for and don’t want.”

A WEF spokesman told the AP that year that Musk wasn’t invited, despite his claim that he turned down an invite because he thought it was “boring.”

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 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.

The 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.”

Reporters waited outside the room where the U.S. and Ukrainian presidents met. But the two leaders stayed off camera, and there was no photo op nor questions taken. The meeting lasted about an hour.

President Vjosa Osmani, whose small Balkan country has signed on to the board, said decisions will be taken by a majority of members.

Still, Trump is the “founder and chairman of the board,” Osmani said, and “there are more powers in the hands of the United States of America.” She did not elaborate.

U.S. officials have not made public the text of the board’s charter document.

Osmani spoke to reporters after emerging from the signing ceremony, lamenting how the decision-making at the United Nations has a “very complex decision-making procedure.” She alluded to the right of all five permanent members of the Security Council to veto any decision.

“Is it better to be in an international organization where Russia has the right of veto and causes wars that they never want to stop by using the rights of veto?” said Osmani. “Or to be in an international organization where Russia doesn’t have the right to veto and where we can trust established leadership, which is American leadership, when it comes to making peace in the world?”

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.

An Israeli official said Thursday that special efforts were being made to bring back the last hostage body in Gaza, Ran Gvili.

The cabinet will take up the issue and the opening of the Rafah crossing at the beginning of the week, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

Zelenskyy 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 said the Soviet Union recognized the Palestinian state in 1988 “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.

Moscow is considering an invitation to join Trump’s Board of Peace, according to Putin, who has proposed sending $1 billion 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 later 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 has 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.