US President Donald Trump on Friday took credit for a peace deal negotiated in Washington between the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) and Rwanda — and complained that he would not get a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts.
The warring African nations on Wednesday said in a joint statement that they had initialed an agreement aimed at ending the conflict in the eastern DR Congo, to be formally signed in the US capital this week.
“This is a Great Day for Africa and, quite frankly, a Great Day for the World!” Trump wrote on Truth Social, confirming the breakthrough.
However, his triumphant tone darkened as he complained that he had been overlooked by the Norwegian Nobel Committee for his mediating role in conflicts between India and Pakistan, as well as Serbia and Kosovo.
He also demanded credit for “keeping peace” between Egypt and Ethiopia and brokering the Abraham Accords, a series of agreements aiming to normalize relations between Israel and several Arab nations.
Trump campaigned for office as a “peacemaker” who would use his negotiating skills to quickly end wars in Ukraine and Gaza, although both conflicts are still raging five months into his presidency. Indian officials have denied that he had any role in its ceasefire with Pakistan.
The government of Pakistan on Friday said it would formally recommend Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize next year “in recognition of his decisive diplomatic intervention and pivotal leadership” during the recent conflict.
However, Trump’s claims for the Abraham Accords being able to “unify the Middle East” have yet to be realized, with war breaking out between Israel and Iran, and no end in sight to the conflict in Gaza.
Critics said that Trump greatly exaggerated the significance of the 2020 Serbia-Kosovo agreements, which were statements of intent that were thin on details and quickly unraveled.
The president said officials from DR Congo and Rwanda would be in Washington tomorrow for the signing, although their joint statement said they would put pen to paper on June 27.
The resource-rich eastern DR Congo, which borders Rwanda, has been plagued by violence for three decades, with a resurgence since the anti-government M23 armed group went on a renewed offensive at the end of 2021.
The deal — which builds on a declaration of principles signed in April — was reached during three days of talks between the neighbors in Washington, they said.
Trump has received multiple Nobel Peace Prize nominations from supporters and lawmakers over the years.
He has made no secret of his irritation at missing out on the prestigious award, bringing it up as recently as February during an Oval Office meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Then-US president Barack Obama won the prize soon after taking office in 2009, and Trump complained during his election campaign last year that his Democratic predecessor was not worthy of the honor.
Former Nicaraguan president Violeta Chamorro, who brought peace to Nicaragua after years of war and was the first woman elected president in the Americas, died on Saturday at the age of 95, her family said. Chamorro, who ruled the poor Central American country from 1990 to 1997, “died in peace, surrounded by the affection and love of her children,” said a statement issued by her four children. As president, Chamorro ended a civil war that had raged for much of the 1980s as US-backed rebels known as the “Contras” fought the leftist Sandinista government. That conflict made Nicaragua one of
BOMBARDMENT: Moscow sent more than 440 drones and 32 missiles, Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, in ‘one of the most terrifying strikes’ on the capital in recent months A nighttime Russian missile and drone bombardment of Ukraine killed at least 15 people and injured 116 while they slept in their homes, local officials said yesterday, with the main barrage centering on the capital, Kyiv. Kyiv City Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko said 14 people were killed and 99 were injured as explosions echoed across the city for hours during the night. The bombardment demolished a nine-story residential building, destroying dozens of apartments. Emergency workers were at the scene to rescue people from under the rubble. Russia flung more than 440 drones and 32 missiles at Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy
COMPETITION: The US and Russia make up about 90 percent of the world stockpile and are adding new versions, while China’s nuclear force is steadily rising, SIPRI said Most of the world’s nuclear-armed states continued to modernize their arsenals last year, setting the stage for a new nuclear arms race, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said yesterday. Nuclear powers including the US and Russia — which account for about 90 percent of the world’s stockpile — had spent time last year “upgrading existing weapons and adding newer versions,” researchers said. Since the end of the Cold War, old warheads have generally been dismantled quicker than new ones have been deployed, resulting in a decrease in the overall number of warheads. However, SIPRI said that the trend was likely
‘SHORTSIGHTED’: Using aid as leverage is punitive, would not be regarded well among Pacific Island nations and would further open the door for China, an academic said New Zealand has suspended millions of dollars in budget funding to the Cook Islands, it said yesterday, as the relationship between the two constitutionally linked countries continues to deteriorate amid the island group’s deepening ties with China. A spokesperson for New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters said in a statement that New Zealand early this month decided to suspend payment of NZ$18.2 million (US$11 million) in core sector support funding for this year and next year as it “relies on a high trust bilateral relationship.” New Zealand and Australia have become increasingly cautious about China’s growing presence in the Pacific
RSS