Secretary of State Marco Rubio Remarks to Press at Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace

SECRETARY RUBIO:  So obviously on the security cooperation, we want to – we’ve talked about the end of the conflict as not the last of our engagement with the Democratic Republic of Congo.  We want a strong U.S. partnership with the Democratic Republic of Congo that extends beyond simply starting¹ a war.  We want to also be a part of helping build up long-term security and stability, and we also want to be involved in helping bring – build up mutual prosperity.  We want the Democratic Republic of Congo to be a rich and prosperous country, and we want to do it in partnership with them in a way that’s mutually beneficial, and that’s what we hope to build on today.  But obviously, it starts with security.

QUESTION:  And for the people of the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo who was expecting now peace, what —

SECRETARY RUBIO:  Yes.  Well, that’s —

QUESTION:  Will the USA will tell them today when is all these things ending?

SECRETARY RUBIO:  Well, we have an agreement, and now the agreement has to be lived up to, now the agreement has to be implemented.  You can sign papers, you can sign documents, but you have to comply.  Like any war, like any conflict, there’s going to be ups and downs, and there’s going to be stops and starts, and there are going to be days where we wish progress was faster than it was.  We’re living through that now in Gaza.  We’ve lived through it in other places. 

But we now have a commitment at the highest levels of both governments from their heads of state on very specific things that will happen.  Now we have to make sure those things happen, and we’ll be engaged every step of the way.

SECRETARY RUBIO:  Thank you.