After several days of intense diplomatic engagement, technical teams from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda have initialed a peace agreement in Washington, marking a key step toward resolving tensions in the eastern DRC and broader Great Lakes region.
The agreement, witnessed by U.S. Under Secretary for Political Affairs Allison Hooker, is set for formal ministerial signing on June 27, with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio scheduled to attend.
Crucially, the agreement defers the complex issue of the Rwanda-backed M23 rebellion to the ongoing Doha process, led by Qatari mediation.
This follows the failure of the Luanda Agreement on December 15, primarily due to unresolved disputes surrounding the M23 group.
Now, both Kigali and Kinshasa have pledged to support the Doha negotiations until a resolution is reached.
“We are in a different situation since the M23 issue, the dialogue with the M23 is integrated into the Washington agreement, we will refer to Doha, it is Doha that will give us the direction to follow on how to resolve the M23 issue,” a senior Rwandan official told ACTUALITE.CD.
“The M23 issue was preferred to Doha, it was not Washington that had the ambition to discuss security issues related to the M23.”
The Washington accord outlines a commitment from both governments to actively support the Qatari-led talks, recognizing Doha as the appropriate platform to navigate the delicate and security-sensitive aspects of the conflict.
“We agreed on the support we must provide to the ongoing negotiations between the DRC and the AFC/M23, the mediation of Qatar, the negotiations are ongoing, we are committed to supporting it and seeing the results of these negotiations,” the Rwandan official added.
According to diplomatic sources in Doha, negotiations between M23 representatives and the Congolese government have recently intensified, entering a more substantive phase.
Both delegations are now reportedly discussing the fundamental issues at the heart of the years-long conflict, with the Qatari mediators presenting new proposals to be reviewed by each side’s leadership before continuing talks.
These Doha negotiations, revitalized in early May following a period of stagnation, aim to address the root causes of violence in eastern Congo, which has displaced hundreds of thousands and destabilized a volatile region.
As the DRC and Rwanda prepare to formally sign the Washington agreement, eyes now turn to Qatar, where the fate of the M23 issue—and broader peace in eastern DRC—hangs in the balance.
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