At the end of the United States/Africa summit, Anthony Blinken, American Secretary of State, asked Kigali on December 15 to act to allow the application of the Luanda agreement and therefore the withdrawal of the group. rebel M23.
Once again, the United States is putting pressure on Rwandan President Paul Kagame regarding the security crisis linked to the rebellion. The United States, however, is rather isolated on this subject on the international scene, as Jason Stearns, director of the Congo Study Group, a research center attached to New York University, explains.
” For the past few months that the United States has been raising its voice to demand that Rwanda cease its support for M23, this time Antony Blinken was a little more polite. However, in other statements, members of the US Congress and even the US executive have been quite clear and strong in their condemnation of Rwandan support. So I think it’s an extension of a policy that already existed and in which the United States is quite alone diplomatically. Normally the United States develops its policy with preferred partners, especially within the UN Security Council – France and Great Britain – and it is precisely these two countries, France and Great Britain, which are blocking a little because, I think, because of their own interests in the region. These two countries have therefore been very reluctant even if, in private, the diplomats of these two countries recognize that this support exists “, he underlines.
Difference in treatment
During the United States/Africa summit, Paul Kagame did not meet Anthony Blinken, unlike the Congolese president, Felix Tshisekedi. The Rwandan president did not take part in the photo at the end of the summit around Joe Biden. Why this difference in treatment? Jason Stearns, gives us some answers.
” I think it’s about raising the importance of the Congo to the United States. It’s not only because of the size of the country and the democratic values, etc… but it’s also because of the geopolitics. Congo is the largest cobalt producer in the world and the largest copper producer in Africa. There are also significant deposits of lithium and other minerals in the DRC. I think that’s part of the importance of the DRC and that’s why they met. That being the case, I think that for this Biden government, at least, there are also members who really insist on the values of democracy. The importance of Rwanda, as a partner in the region, has greatly diminished, for a few years moreover. It’s not just under Biden. I think these are the factors that explain this commitment after Tshisekedi and this lack of importance for the meeting with Kagame », Analyzes again Jason Stearns, director of the Study Group on the Congo.
United States / Africa summit: Joe Biden acts on the diplomatic return of the United States to the continent