Kinshasa, June 26th, 2025 (CPA). – The decisive involvement of the United States of America in restoring peace in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo will be a game changer in terms of security in the Great Lakes sub-region, said the Congolese President in an interview given on Thursday in Kinshasa to an American media outlet. « (…) I spoke to you about the international community. I believe that the United States bears some responsibility for what happened in the region. Perhaps not culpable responsibility, but its responsibility was to have trusted a Rwandan regime that had been afflicted by genocide. And in trying to repair what had been done, the mistakes that had been made, we made others in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). I believe it is this awareness on the part of the United States that will change the situation, » said Félix Tshisekedi, responding to journalist Hariana Veras Victoria, White House correspondent for Africa.
The President of the DRC expressed his government’s conviction that it should seek the support of the Trump administration to resolve the security crisis in the east of the country. ‘Firstly, because President Trump has made an announcement. Secondly, because he represents the world’s leading power. It is the United States that is taking a stand, and everyone knows the influence of the United States,’ he said.
President Tshisekedi took the opportunity to recall the origin of this security crisis in eastern DRC, which was caused by the invasion of Rwandan populations into North Kivu province, allowed by the regime of former President Mobutu in response to a request from the international community. Speaking about the peace agreement to be signed between the DRC and Rwanda, the Congolese President argued that it will be of great use in pursuing several of the country’s development programs.
‘This agreement will come at an opportune moment for us, because we still have many development programs underway, particularly in the infrastructure sector with the local development of 145 territories and the education sector,’ noted the Congolese Head of State.
Trump deserves a Nobel Peace Prize
Still on the subject of the Washington peace agreement between the DRC and Rwanda, Félix Tshisekedi said that if US President Donald Trump succeeded in restoring peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the process currently underway, he would vote for him for the Nobel Peace Prize. « If there is one merit that I recognize today in President Donald Trump, it is that he has taken the problem of the conflict in the DRC head-on. He has a very effective team led by Dr Boulos, which is working very well. For the moment, we have an agreement in principle, and I believe that an agreement will be signed by the foreign ministers of the DRC and Rwanda, which we will ratify around President Trump, perhaps in mid-July (…) If he manages to end an unjust conflict that has caused so many deaths (…) If President Trump succeeds, through his influence and mediation, in bringing it to an end, because that is what we are seeking, he would truly deserve the Nobel Prize, and I would be the first to vote for him, » said President Tshisekedi.