Latest news with #peaceagreement
Reuters
7 hours ago
- Politics
- Reuters
US wants Rwandan troops out of Congo before peace deal signed, sources say
June 10 (Reuters) - The United States is promoting a deal that would require Rwanda to pull troops from eastern Congo before the two sides sign a peace agreement, sources say, a condition that is sure to rankle Kigali, which describes Congo-based armed groups as an existential threat. U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is holding talks to end fighting in eastern Congo and bring billions of dollars of Western investment to the region, which is rich in minerals including tantalum, gold, cobalt, copper and lithium. Massad Boulos, Trump's senior adviser for Africa, told Reuters in May that Washington wanted a peace agreement finalised "within about two months", an ambitious timeline for resolving a conflict with roots in the Rwandan genocide more than three decades ago. A draft peace agreement seen by Reuters says a condition for signature is that Rwanda withdraws troops, weapons and equipment from Congo. The authenticity of the document, which is undated, was confirmed by four diplomatic sources, who said it was written by U.S. officials. The draft goes beyond a declaration of principles that the two countries' foreign ministers signed at a ceremony in Washington in April with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. That document said the two sides would address any security concerns in a manner that respected each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty. Rwanda has sent between 7,000 and 12,000 soldiers to eastern Congo to support M23 rebels, analysts and diplomats told Reuters earlier this year, after the rebel group seized the region's two largest cities in a lightning advance. Rwanda has long denied providing arms and troops to M23, saying its forces are acting in self-defence against Congo's army and ethnic Hutu militiamen linked to the 1994 genocide that killed around 1 million people, mostly ethnic Tutsis. Rwanda had not responded to the U.S.-produced draft agreement as of last week, two sources told Reuters. Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe told Reuters that experts from Congo and Rwanda would meet this week in Washington to discuss the agreement. The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A senior official in the office of Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi accused Rwanda of "dragging their feet" on the draft and said Rwanda's withdrawal was necessary for the peace process to move forward. "We demand the total withdrawal of Rwandan troops as a precondition for signing the agreement, and we will not compromise," the source said. The U.S.-produced draft agreement also calls for a "Joint Security Coordination Mechanism" that could include Rwandan and "foreign military observer personnel" to deal with security issues, including the continued presence in Congo of Rwandan Hutu militias. Analysts say the most commonly cited group, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, no longer poses much of a threat to Rwanda, though President Paul Kagame's government still describes it as a serious threat. The draft agreement also says Congo would commit to allowing M23 to participate in a national dialogue "on equal footing with other DRC non-state armed groups" - a major concession for Kinshasa, which sees M23 as a terrorist group and Rwandan proxy. Congo is engaged in separate direct talks with M23 over a possible deal to end the latest cycle of fighting. The draft agreement says Rwanda "shall take all possible measures to ensure" M23 withdraws from territory it controls, in line with terms agreed in Doha. A source briefed on that process told Reuters last week that Qatar had presented a draft proposal to both delegations which would consult their leaders before resuming talks. A rebel official, though, said there had been little progress towards a final deal that would see M23 cede territory.
Reuters
25-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Congo eyes US minerals deal by end of June, FT reports
May 25 (Reuters) - Officials from the Democratic Republic of Congo are optimistic they can reach a deal with Washington next month to secure U.S investment in critical minerals alongside support to end a Rwandan-backed rebellion in the country's east, the Financial Times reported on Sunday. Congolese minerals such as tungsten, tantalum and tin, which Kinshasa has long accused neighbouring Rwanda of illegally exploiting, could be exported legitimately to Rwanda for processing under the terms of a peace deal being negotiated by the U.S., Reuters reported last week. An investment deal with the U.S. and separate peace deal with Rwanda were possible "by the end of June", the newspaper said, citing two people close to the negotiations. But potential stumbling blocks remain substantial, the FT said. Congo's Mines Minister Kizito Pakabomba said an agreement with the U.S. would help "diversify our partnerships", reducing the country's dependence on China for the exploitation of its vast mineral riches, the FT reported. Kinshasa views the plundering of its mineral wealth as a key driver of the conflict between its forces and Rwanda-backed M23 rebels in eastern Congo that has intensified since January, accusing Kigali of smuggling tens of millions of dollars worth of minerals over the border each month to be sold from Rwanda. Washington is pushing for a peace agreement between the two sides to be signed this summer, accompanied by minerals deals aimed at bringing billions of dollars of Western investment to the region, Massad Boulos, U.S. President Donald Trump's senior adviser for Africa, said earlier this month. Rwanda's defensive measures along the border, are necessary as long as threats and the cause of insecurity in the DRC persists, Yolande Makolo, a Rwandan government spokesperson said, according to the FT. The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Russia and Ukraine swap 307 soldiers on second day of POW exchange
MOSCOW/CHERNIHIV, Ukraine (Reuters) -Russia and Ukraine each exchanged 307 of their service personnel on Saturday on the second day of a prisoner exchange that, when completed, is set to be the largest such swap in the three-year war between the two countries. U.S. President Donald Trump has suggested the prisoner swap -- which should see 1,000 prisoners released on each side over three days -- could herald a new phase in stop-start efforts to negotiate a peace deal between Moscow and Kyiv. Saturday's swap was announced by Russia's defence ministry, and separately by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a post on social media platform Telegram. The first part of the exchange took place on Friday when Russia and Ukraine each released 390 prisoners, including 120 civilians, and said they would free more in the coming days. On Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russia would be ready to hand Ukraine a draft document outlining conditions for a long-term peace agreement once the current prisoner exchange was completed. The release took place a few hours after the Ukrainian capital was rocked by an overnight Russian bombardment using long-range drones and ballistic missiles, in which 15 people were injured. (Writing by Christian Lowe; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
Reuters
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Russia and Ukraine swap 307 soldiers on second day of POW exchange
MOSCOW/CHERNIHIV, Ukraine, May 24 (Reuters) - Russia and Ukraine each exchanged 307 of their service personnel on Saturday on the second day of a prisoner exchange that, when completed, is set to be the largest such swap in the three-year war between the two countries. U.S. President Donald Trump has suggested the prisoner swap -- which should see 1,000 prisoners released on each side over three days -- could herald a new phase in stop-start efforts to negotiate a peace deal between Moscow and Kyiv. Saturday's swap was announced by Russia's defence ministry, and separately by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a post on social media platform Telegram. The first part of the exchange took place on Friday when Russia and Ukraine each released 390 prisoners, including 120 civilians, and said they would free more in the coming days. On Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russia would be ready to hand Ukraine a draft document outlining conditions for a long-term peace agreement once the current prisoner exchange was completed. The release took place a few hours after the Ukrainian capital was rocked by an overnight Russian bombardment using long-range drones and ballistic missiles, in which 15 people were injured.
Irish Times
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Ukraine and Russia begin prisoner-exchange in swap set to be biggest of war
Russia and Ukraine each released 390 prisoners on Friday and said they would free more in the coming days, in what is expected to be the biggest prisoner swap of the war so far. An agreement to exchange 1,000 prisoners each was the only concrete step towards peace to emerge last week from the first direct talks between the warring sides in more than three years, when they failed to agree a ceasefire. Both sides said they had each released 270 soldiers and 120 civilians so far, with more due to be released on Saturday and Sunday. The freed Russians were in Belarus, which neighbours Ukraine, receiving psychological and medical assistance before being moved to Russia for further care, the Russian defence ministry said. They include civilians captured inside Russia's Kursk region during a Ukrainian incursion. READ MORE Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy posted photographs of released captives, all with shaven heads, celebrating their release and wrapped in Ukrainian flags. Ukrainian media outlet Espreso TV published a video of the wife of a prisoner crying tears of joy, wrapped in a flag on Kyiv's Independence Square. She said she had been waiting for her husband's release since 2022, and had just received the call from Ukrainian authorities confirming the good news. 'We waited, hoped and fought,' said the woman, whose name was given as Victoria. Earlier, Ukrainian authorities told reporters to assemble at a location in the northern Chernihiv region in anticipation that some freed prisoners could be brought there. Referring to the prisoner swap earlier on Friday, US president Donald Trump , who had pressed the sides to meet last week, wrote on Truth Social: 'Congratulations to both sides on this negotiation. This could lead to something big???' Hundreds of thousands of soldiers are believed to have been wounded or killed on both sides in Europe's deadliest conflict since the second World War, although neither side publishes accurate casualty figures. Tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilians have also died as Russian forces have besieged and bombarded Ukrainian cities. Ukraine says it is ready for a 30-day ceasefire immediately. Russia, which launched the war by invading its neighbour in 2022 and now occupies about a fifth of Ukraine, says it will not pause its assaults until conditions are first met. A member of the Ukrainian delegation called those conditions 'non-starters'. Mr Trump, who has shifted US policy from supporting Ukraine towards accepting some of Russia's account of the war, had said he could tighten sanctions on Moscow if it blocked peace. But after speaking to Mr Putin on Monday by phone he decided to take no action for now. Moscow says it is ready for talks while the fighting goes on, and wants to discuss what it calls the war's 'root causes', including its demands that Ukraine cede more territory and be disarmed and barred from military alliances with the West. Kyiv says this is tantamount to surrender and would leave the country defenceless in the face of future Russian attacks. [ US and Russia exchange two more prisoners amid efforts to repair relations Opens in new window ] Russia claimed on Friday to have captured a settlement called Rakivka in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region. The governor of Ukraine's Odesa region, Oleh Kiper, said Russia had struck port infrastructure there with two missiles on Friday afternoon, killing one person and wounding eight. – Reuters
