US backs - but will not get involved in - DR Congo peace talks: Trump envoy
Massad Boulos spoke in Kigali as DR Congo authorities announced that three Americans sentenced to death over a foiled coup had their punishments commuted to life jail terms and have been repatriated to the United States.
A man crosses a road during heavy snowfall in Seoul on 6 February 2025. The M23 armed group and allied Rwandan forces launched a new offensive on Wednesday in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, days before the Rwandan and Congolese presidents are due to attend a crisis summit. Picture: AFP
KIGALI - The United States supports effort to end fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo but will not get involved in discussions, a US special envoy insisted Tuesday.
Massad Boulos spoke in Kigali as DR Congo authorities announced that three Americans sentenced to death over a foiled coup had their punishments commuted to life jail terms and have been repatriated to the United States.
Eastern DR Congo has been wracked by decades of conflict, but tensions have been heightened in recent months by the advance of the M23 armed group that the international community says is backed by Rwanda. The Rwandan government denies the accusations.
"I can affirm that the United States remains committed to this effort and is ready to facilitate an end to this conflict, obviously a peaceful end," Boulos told a press conference in Kigali.
Boulos, a businessman related to President Donald Trump through marriage, is in the region to support US private investment. On Tuesday he met with President Paul Kagame in Kigali, after previously meeting with DR Congo President Felix Tshisekedi, as well as the presidents of Kenya and Uganda.
"President Trump wants to see peace achieved, he wants this conflict to end, and quickly," Boulos said.
Boulos avoided directly answering how to the fighting could be ended.
M23 has taken control of the cities of Goma and Bukavu in eastern DR Congo and threatened to take more territory.
Efforts by Angola to media have failed, but DR Congo and M23 representatives held talks in Qatar in late March and the Rwandan and DR Congo presidents also met in Doha.
Sources say more talks could be held. M23 sent a delegation to Doha for possible talks on Wednesday, but the Kinshasa authorities have not confirmed the 9 April date.
"We appreciate the dialogue that is ongoing, we hope they continue with the dialogue," Boulos said. "We are not involved in these details; these are internal matters that they are engaged in dialogue about."
The US State Department on Tuesday confirmed that three men initially sentenced to death over a coup attempt in DR Congo had been transferred to US custody.
State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce publicly backed DR Congo authorities in their actions since the overthrow attempt.
"We also strongly condemn the armed attacks of 19 May and support the DRC authorities in holding those responsible appropriately accountable," she said.
DR Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi commuted the men's sentences to life imprisonment and agreed to transfer them to the United States, where they will serve out their sentences, presidential spokeswoman Tina Salama wrote on the X platform.