In an interview with FRANCE 24, US Senior Adviser for Africa Massad Boulos described the June 27 Rwanda-DR Congo peace deal as "a historic agreement", emphasising that "there was never a comprehensive agreement like this particular one". He noted that the accord aims to end a conflict that has lasted for "more than three decades", killing over 6 million people and displacing 8 million others.
Boulos explained that both countries had agreed to establish a "joint security mechanism" to co-ordinate the neutralisation of the FDLR militia and the Rwandan troop withdrawal from DR Congo simultaneously.
He stressed that Rwandan President Paul Kagame was fully committed to implementing the peace accord as well as to reining in the M23 rebel group, which has taken control of large swaths of eastern DR Congo in recent months and is backed by Rwanda, according to the United Nations.
Read moreRwanda and DR Congo sign US-brokered peace agreement in Washington, DC
Boulos expressed hope that ongoing talks in Doha between the M23 rebels and DR Congo's government could reach a "final round" this week.
The senior Trump adviser also confirmed that a mineral deals between the US, DR Congo and Rwanda would be "made public" once signed at the White House, with American companies investing in both countries under a new "regional economic integration framework". He also pledged that there was no willingness to plunder the riches of DR Congo.
Eastern DR Congo is rich in cobalt, copper and lithium – minerals key to our technological future and crucial components of smartphones. Control of them has been a major source of tension between the two neighbouring countries.
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