Under the auspices of the United States, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda initialed a peace agreement in Washington on June 18, with the official signing scheduled for June 27.
This preliminary agreement was reached after several days of intensive dialogue and behind-the-scenes negotiations between experts from both countries, meeting in Uncle Sam's country, under the watchful eye of U.S. Under Secretary for Political Affairs Allison Hooker. It marks an important step in the search for peace and solutions to their ongoing conflict. This preliminary agreement is, to say the least, an important step in the process of rapprochement between Kinshasa and Kigali.
If the Agreement is officially signed, it would be a decisive step in the search for peace.
This is all the more true given that, aside from the Doha summit on March 18th, which brought together Presidents Félix Tshilombo and Paul Kagame alongside the Emir of Qatar, no high-level meeting has been held that brought together experts from these two countries in direct discussions.
The aim was to find a compromise to resolve the crisis and lay the foundations for lasting peace in this conflict that is poisoning the atmosphere between Kinshasa and Kigali and has already left many victims on the ground. This preliminary agreement is all the more a source of hope for a de-escalation between the two neighbors, given that no mediation has so far succeeded in making them smoke the peace pipe.
In any case, there is reason for hope. Because, following the official signing of this agreement scheduled for a week from now, according to some sources, a summit meeting between the two heads of state is looming in the very near future, in the presence of the White House occupant himself, President Donald Trump. This shows how encouraging the signs are.
Be that as it may, in the interest of efficiency and consistency in international efforts, Qatar was involved in the Washington discussions, where Doha participated as an observer. This also shows how everything is being done in advance to ensure a successful outcome of this initiative. The question that arises is whether the fruits of this preliminary agreement will live up to the promise... of the hopes raised. This question is all the more valid because, until the official agreement is signed, anything remains possible in this conflict, where the protagonists have accustomed us to twists and turns amidst delaying tactics and missed opportunities.
This is why we're keeping our fingers crossed, hoping that the June 27th deadline will be met. Because misunderstandings can easily arise if yet another event, or even a third, disruptive event, does not jeopardize the ongoing process. In any case, if the Agreement is officially signed, it would be a decisive step in the search for peace in this conflict that threatens the stability of the entire Great Lakes region.
If the process were to reach a successful conclusion, it would be a diplomatic victory for Trump.
This region has long been shaken by decades of armed conflict amid rivalries and disagreements between neighboring countries. In any case, if the process were to reach a successful conclusion, it would be a diplomatic victory for President Donald Trump, who would undoubtedly reap the political dividends. Even if the contrast between his image as a peacemaker between the DRC and Rwanda and his attitude of blind support for Israel in the merciless war that the Jewish state has unleashed against Iran remains striking. But such is the way of the world. Only interests guide the way.
And it's all the more understandable that the United States is investing in the Congolese issue, doing everything it can to reconcile the two antagonistic presidents, given that, upstream, Washington was engaged in negotiations aimed at making its assistance in securing eastern DRC conditional on easy access to the rare minerals that provide all the wealth of this vast Central African country.
In any case, now that the process is underway, the key is to reach an agreement. And everything suggests that Donald Trump holds all the cards to achieve this. Will peace in the DRC then come through Washington? It's a wait-and-see situation.
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