Jan 21 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday he would meet on Thursday with U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who have been tasked with finding a solution to Russia's nearly four-year-old war with Ukraine.

Putin, quoted by Russian news agencies, said during a meeting of Russia's Security Council that he would discuss the possible use of frozen Russian assets with the U.S. envoys in connection with recovery work in regions affected by the war.

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 21 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that Russian President Vladimir Putin had accepted his invitation to join Trump's Board of Peace initiative aimed at resolving global conflicts, a statement that Putin quickly countered, saying that the invitation was only under consideration.

“He was invited. He’s accepted,” Trump told reporters at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland after meeting with NATO chief Mark Rutte.

Iranian authorities on Wednesday said 3,117 people were killed during protests that first erupted in late December, but activists said the actual toll risked being many times higher due to a crackdown that suppressed the demonstrations.

Demonstrations and strikes initially sparked by economic grievances turned into a mass movement against the clerical leadership that has ruled Iran since the 1979 revolution, with people pouring into the streets in mass protests for several days from January 8.

(Refiles to add dropped apostrophe in headline)

By Samia Nakhoul

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Donald Trump's Board of Peace, seen by some as a rival to the United Nations, has caught officials at some of the countries invited off guard, with several saying they felt compelled to sign up rather than risk the U.S. president's wrath.

Reuters canvassed 16 world leaders, including politicians and delegates from Arab nations, Latin American countries and Europe at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, with the response fairly consistent.

BELGRADE, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Slovenia's Prime Minister Robert Golob said on Wednesday his country will not accept an invitation from U.S. President Donald Trumpto join his so-called "Board of Peace".

Trump has invited dozens of world leaders to join the U.S.-led initiative, which he would chair and would initially aim to end the conflict in Gaza but then be expanded to tackle wars elsewhere.

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 21 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he would like to bring together the leaders of Egypt and Ethiopia to work out a deal to solve a dispute over Ethiopia's Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, which both Egypt and Sudan consider a serious threat to vital water supplies.

Trump made the comments while meeting with Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

(Reporting by Steve Holland and Ryan Patrick Jones; editing by Costas Pitas)

DUBAI, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan and Qatar have accepted invitations to join U.S. President Donald Trump's "Board of Peace", the Saudi foreign ministry said in a joint statement that also included the United Arab Emirates.

The statement added that each country will sign accession documents in accordance with its legal procedures.

Trump has invited dozens of world leaders to join his initiative aimed at resolving global conflicts, although diplomats say the move could harm the work of the United Nations.

WASHINGTON/CAIRO, Jan 21 (Reuters) - The U.S. military said on Wednesday that its forces have transferred 150 Islamic State detainees from Syria to Iraq.

The move comes after the rapid collapse of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in northeast Syria triggered uncertainty over the security of around a dozen prisons and detention camps they had been guarding.

In a statement, the U.S. military said the United States was able to transport 150 Islamic State fighters held at a detention facility in Hasakah, Syria, to a secure location in Iraq.

By Feras Dalatey , Maya Gebeily and Humeyra Pamuk

DAMASCUS, Syria Jan 21 (Reuters) - The Syrian government's rapid takeover of territory long held by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces took shape in a string of high-stakes meetings in Damascus, Paris and Iraq earlier this month, nine sources briefed on the closed-door summits told Reuters.

The accounts, not previously reported and shared on condition of anonymity, showed that the U.S. did not stand in the way of an operation that has radically altered Syria's balance of power, at the expense of a one-time ally.

By Menna AlaaElDin and Alexander Cornwell

Jan 21 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump has invited dozens of world leaders to join his Board of Peace initiative aimed at resolving global conflicts but diplomats say it could harm the work of the United Nations.

While some traditional allies of the U.S. have responded cautiously, and in a few cases have rejected Trump's offer, others including nations that have long had strained ties with Washington such as Belarus have accepted.

WHAT IS TRUMP'S BOARD OF PEACE?