By Daphne Psaledakis
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump’s senior adviser for Africa said on Thursday he spoke with the presidents of Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo about a draft peace deal this week, as Washington seeks to end a decades-long conflict in the region.
The United States is awaiting final feedback due this weekend from Rwanda and Congo on the draft agreement, Massad Boulos told Reuters in an interview in Washington.
He added that there may still be amendments and adjustments, but he hopes it can be concluded in coming weeks.
The Trump administration, which has sought to strike peace accords in multiple regions and prioritized U.S. access to critical minerals, has been seeking to end the conflict in a region rich in tantalum, gold, cobalt, copper and lithium.
Boulos said he spoke with Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Democratic Republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi to touch base, adding that they were pleased with the progress that had been made.
“It was very positive from both of them,” Boulos said. “They’re both looking forward to working with us and with the Qataris and with the African Union towards achieving a final solution that will give lasting peace.”
Congo and Rwanda earlier this month submitted a proposal as part of a process meant to end the fighting in eastern Congo and attract billions of dollars of Western investment. Boulos said they worked on the drafts and came up with the current one.
AWAITING FEEDBACK
“We are awaiting the final feedback from both parties,” Boulos said on Thursday.
“As soon as we finalize this last round, as indicated before, Secretary Rubio is ready and prepared to host them here. So we hope this can be concluded as quickly as possible in the coming few weeks,” he said, referring to Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Boulos said that there was no specific timeline for the foreign ministers to visit DC.
Earlier this month, he told Reuters that Rubio would meet in Washington in mid-May with the Rwandan and Congolese foreign ministers in an effort to agree on a final draft peace accord.
The diplomacy comes amid an unprecedented advance by Rwandan-backed M23 rebels in eastern Congo that has killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands more.
The rebels seized Goma, eastern Congo’s largest city, in late January and Bukavu, the area’s second-largest, weeks later.
The United Nations and Western governments say Rwanda has provided arms and troops to M23. Rwanda denies backing the group and says its military has acted in self-defense against Congo’s army and a militia founded by perpetrators of the 1994 genocide.
Tshisekedi’s government is engaged in separate talks with M23 facilitated by Qatar.
Last month Congo and the rebels agreed to work towards peace, but sources in the two delegations have expressed frustration with the pace of negotiations.
(Editing by Robbie Corey-Boulet and Andrew Heavens)
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