US President Donald Trump gathered the leaders of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda to sign a peace deal in Washington even as fighting continued in their war-scarred region.
Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Democratic Republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi affirmed commitments to an economic integration compact agreed last month, and to a US-brokered peace deal reached in June.
They were also due to sign an agreement on critical minerals.
The signing handed Mr Trump the latest in a series of diplomatic victories, in this case one at odds with the situation on the ground.
The US wants access to a spectrum of natural resources in Congo and is scrambling globally to counter China's dominance in critical minerals.
"We're settling a war that's been going on for decades," Mr Trump said.
"They spent a lot of time killing each other, and now they're going to spend a lot of time hugging, holding hands, and taking advantage of the United States of America economically - like every other country does," he added.
Sitting before a "Delivering Peace" backdrop at a peace institute that his administration unofficially renamed after Mr Trump, the African leaders signed and exchanged documents with the US president.
"Thank you for putting a certain name on that building," President Trump told Secretary of State Marco Rubio, adding that it was a "great honour."
As the leaders signed, clashes between Rwanda-backed M23 rebels and the Congolese army were reported throughout South Kivu province. A spokesperson for M23 accused government troops of bombing several civilian areas.
M23 seized the two largest cities in eastern Congo earlier this year, raising fears of a wider war. Analysts say US diplomacy has paused the escalation of fighting but has failed to resolve core issues.
A White House official said the deal signing "recommits the parties to the peace process" and reflected "months of intensive diplomacy led by President Trump, who made it clear to both the DRC and Rwanda that the status quo was unacceptable."
Clashes in Congo continue
The US president has been eager to burnish his diplomatic credentials.
Since he returned to office in January, Mr Trump has intervened in conflicts from the Middle East to Ukraine and beyond. He also presided over deal-signing ceremonies from Kuala Lumpur to Sharm el-Sheikh.
Those efforts have brought mixed results: a long-sought Gaza deal, but also criticism that he should focus on domestic, cost-of-living concerns instead.
Voters give Mr Trump low marks on his handling of the economy.
Ahead of the signing yesterday, the president's name was added to a sign outside the United States Institute of Peace in Washington, a Congress-founded non-profit his administration tried to seize control of earlier this year.
Who controls the institute is now the subject of a legal battle.
Read more: Rwanda and Congo sign peace deal in US after rebel sweep
At a news conference in Washington on Wednesday, Congolese official Patrick Muyaya blamed M23 for recent fighting and said it was "proof that Rwanda doesn't want peace."
M23 did not attend the meetings in the US.
It is not bound by the terms of the Congo-Rwanda agreement and is participating in separate, Qatar-mediated talks with Congo.
Denis Mukwege, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2018 for helping Congolese sexual-violence victims, said the deals were driven more by the scramble for minerals than by a genuine effort to end bloodshed.
A region rich in minerals
Mr Trump aides are looking to facilitate billions of dollars of Western investment in a region rich in tantalum, tin, tungsten, gold, cobalt, copper, lithium and other minerals.
Under the President Trump-backed agreement, Congo would need to crack down on an armed group opposed to M23, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda.
Rwanda would need to withdraw its forces from Congo. Little apparent progress has been made toward either pledge since June.
"We have seen countless mediations and efforts, but none has succeeded in resolving the underlying issues," said Mr Kagame.
"President Trump introduced a new and effective dynamism that created the space for breakthroughs," he added.
Mr Tshisekedi called the deal a "turning point."
