Two of US President Trump’s peace deals at risk of collapse
Two of US President Donald Trump’s peace deals are at risk of collapse amid renewed fighting in the Congo-Rwanda and Cambodia-Thailand conflicts, according to Africanews via AP on 10th December.
The latest clashes have violated the treaties signed between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda in Washington on 4th December and between Cambodia and Thailand in Malaysia on 7th August, both of which were mediated by Trump.
Separate statements from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and The International Contact Group for the Great Lakes (ICG) on 9th December encouraged soldiers involved in action to honour their part in the deals signed.
The ICG urged “the M23 and the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) to immediately halt offensive operations in eastern DRC” and “to withdraw from eastern DRC in line with UNSC resolution 2773 and on the M23 to uphold its commitments.”
US The Secretary of State said: “We strongly urge the immediate cessation of hostilities, the protection of civilians, and for both sides to return to the de-escalatory measures outlined in the October 26 Kuala Lumpur Peace Accords.”
The ICG includes, Great Britain, Denmark, Belgium. Sweden, Switzerland, Netherlands, Germany France, The European Union and The United States.
On the same day, Trump again reassured that he could halt fighting between Cambodia and Thailand despite the consistent breaches of the treaty.
“Tomorrow I’ll have to make a phone call,” he declared during a speech in Pennsylvania. “Who else could say, ‘I’m going to make a phone call and stop a war of two very powerful countries, Thailand and Cambodia?’”
Trumps attempts have done little to broker peace between the two countries, with continued skirmishes since the negotiations were signed.
Fighting was again reignited this week, leaving dozens dead, as both sides vowed to defend their territories against their aggressors, according to a report from The Guardian on Tuesday 9th December.
A senior anonymous official within the Trump administration, said The President expected Thailand and Cambodia, alongside Rwanda and Congo to “honour their commitments” to halt the violence.
Trump has used seven or eight similar agreements as evidence for his aptitude at ending hostilities between countries. His internationally backed plan to end the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza is currently pending, with fighting continuing during the incomplete second phase.
His attempts to end fighting between Russia and Ukraine have so far been ineffective. Other negotiations Trump has been a part of and claimed successes in include the conflicts between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Israel and Iran, India and Pakistan, Kosovo and Serbia and Egypt and Ethiopia.
Africanews, The Guardian, Maghrebi.org, US Department of State
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