From killing to ‘hugging’: Trump hails Rwanda and DR Congo peace deal
The Washington Accords promise to end three decades of conflict — and give the US access to rare earth minerals.
President Donald Trump praised the “vision and courage” of the leaders of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo as they signed an agreement to end 30 years of conflict after US mediation.
Trump hailed the Washington Accords as the eighth peace agreement of his second term and said “everybody’s going to make a lot of money” from parallel deals for US companies to mine rare earth minerals in the African nations.
Both leaders pledged to take responsibility for ending the remaining fighting in their border region involving various armed groups also seeking to control the natural resources.
The treaty-signing ceremony took place at the non-profit research group in Washington founded by the US congress, the US Institute of Peace, which the State Department announced on Wednesday (local time) had been renamed the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace. It followed an initial agreement between the two countries in June.
“There’s tremendous wealth in that beautiful earth … but it was stained badly with blood, tremendous amounts of blood,” Trump said during an event joined by the presidents of Angola, Burundi and Kenya, as well as other African dignitaries.
“The Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda have agreed to more closely integrate their economies with each other rather than fighting,” Trump said.
“These two gentlemen are very smart and I think they liked each other a lot. I spent time with them. I think they liked each other. Some people may be surprised … they’ve spent a lot of time killing each other and now they’re going to spend a lot of time hugging, holding hands and taking advantage of the United States of America economically like every other country does.”
He added: “They do have some very valuable things. They’re going to have a lot of money and a lot of success.”
When the speechifying was over, Trump allowed one question from an African journalist who asked when Rwandan troops would withdraw from the DRC. “I think you’re going to see very quickly things happen … I think it’s going to be a great miracle,” Trump said.
But the situation in the mineral-rich eastern DRC border region remains complex and dangerous after decades of conflict involving up to 100 armed groups. The most powerful, M23, seized the region’s main cities of Goma and Bukavu this year and have been reluctant to cede power in peace talks taking place in Qatar.
There are reports of continued armed clashes, while the international airport in Goma remains closed and services such as bank operations have yet to resume.
President Kagame of Rwanda said that Trump brought “a new and effective dynamism that created the space for breakthroughs” to resolve the conflict.
“No one was asking President Trump to take up this task - our region is far from the headlines,” Kagame said. “But when the president saw the opportunity to contribute to peace he immediately took it. This conflict has lasted for 30 years, we have seen countless mediation efforts but none had succeeded in solving the underlying issues.”
Kagame said the countries now had “the clearest and most viable path forward to end the conflict once and for all”.
He warned there would be “up and downs on the road ahead” but said “Rwanda will not be found wanting … our only objective is for our country to be safe and secure after having endured so much tragedy”.
President Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of the Congo said there would be a “joint struggle” to end the fighting.
“We are reaching out for a peaceful co-operation based on mutual respect, non-interference and the joint struggle against the armed groups, the end of all support to negative forces and the beginning of fair prosperity on behalf of two populations. I do believe this day is the beginning of a new path, a demanding path, yes, indeed quite difficult, but this is a path where peace will not just be a wish, an aspiration, but a turning point.”
Trump thanked Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, for adding his name to the facade of the Institute for Peace building. “Thank you for putting a certain name on that building. I came, I said ‘boy, that is beautiful’,” he said. “They said that’s a great honour. It really is.”
The Times
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