WASHINGTON — President Trump boasted about how the heads of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, whose countries have been engaged in a longstanding conflict, will now be “hugging” one another as they signed a US-brokered peace deal.
The deal was inked during an official ceremony at the recently rebranded “Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace,” where the president emphasized how far the two neighboring and rival countries have come.
“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 US economically, like every other country does,” Trump said of leaders of Rwanda and the Congo.
Back in June, Trump, who has billed the deal the “Washington Accords,” got the two nations’ foreign ministers to sign a peace accord and wind down brutal fighting.
Thursday’s event at the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace, which got its new name Wednesday, saw the two countries’ leaders, Democratic Republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwanda President Paul Kagame, give the deal their stamp of approval.
Leaders from Angola, Burundi, Kenya, Togo, and Uganda were all present at the feted event.
“The Washington Accords — everybody sort of likes that name — formalizes the terms agreed to in June, including a permanent ceasefire, the disarmament of non-state forces, provisions for refugees to return to their homes, and justice and accountability for those who have committed illegal atrocities,” Trump explained.
A reporter from Angola state television asked Trump when Rwanda’s troops will withdraw from the Congo and “when we will see the real peace,” contending that people are still being killed in the conflict.
“I think you are going to see very quickly, I think you’re going to see things happen,” Trump replied. “These two gentlemen are leaders. They’re great leaders, and they’re going to prove that in the coming months and years, and I think you’ll see very immediate results.”
Fighting in the two countries was reported on Thursday between Congo’s government and rebels that are thought to be backed by Rwanda.
The two countries have been fighting on and off for some 30 years after the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
Trump has touted his efforts to broker peace between the two countries as one of over half a dozen “wars” he claimed to have settled during his second term.
“No one was asking President Trump to take up this task. Our region is far from the headlines, but when the President saw the opportunity to contribute to peace, he immediately took it,” Kagame said, thanking Trump.
“We have seen countless mediation efforts, but none has succeeded in resolving the underlying issues,” he added. “President Trump introduced a new and effective dynamism that created the space for breakthroughs.”
Tshisekedi similarly thanked Trump and conveyed optimism that the deal will have some staying power.
“The Washington agreements are not yet another document. These represent a turning point. They bring together under a coherent architecture, a declaration of principles, of a peace agreement and also the regional economic integration framework to provide to the peoples,” he argued.
“…We will remain watchful, vigilant, but not pessimistic. We’ll be clear-eyed, but resolutely optimistic.”
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