The year of Trump’s peace agreements

The year just finished has been an extraordinary year for peace agreements. Not for the number produced, but rather for their significance. Protracted conflicts have been resolved through the establishment of agreements, and the US played a role in each instance. It appears that for the Trump administration, diplomacy encompasses more than the pursuit of peace, and the economy is a central component of this broader agenda.

The Washington Accords for peace and prosperity between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda

In June, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda signed a historic deal in Washington, DC, known as the Washington Accords for peace and prosperity¹. As UN Secretary-General Antonio Guteress stated, “these agreements represent a critical step towards restoring trust and in advancing efforts for lasting peace”². The conflict in the DRC has persisted for decades, but it resurged more violently earlier this year with the advance of rebel group M23 in North and South Kivu, resulting in the displacement of thousands of persons (IDPs) and the escalation of the humanitarian crisis³.

The armed group, taking the name from the unsuccessful peace agreement of March 23, 2009, is perpetrating heinous human rights violations⁴ in the eastern region of the country, which is comprised of the world’s richest regions.

Rwanda has consistently denied providing support to the group, despite numerous investigations demonstrating otherwise⁵ and detailing military assistance, personnel support, logistical aid and political backing⁶. The deal stipulated that both countries adhere to the principles of national sovereignty and territorial integrity, cease all support to armed groups and ensure the protection of humanitarian workers operating in conflict-affected areas. The text included minerals trade between the two parties in collaboration with the US.

The exchange was formalized in August through the ratification of a regional economic agreement⁷ aimed at preventing China’s expansion of influence. The text’s ineffectiveness is evidenced by the findings of the UN peacekeeping agency, which recorded 1,087 civilian deaths and estimated the most severe level of violence since November 2021⁸. For this reason, President Trump organized a new summit in Washington the first week of December and prepared a new peace agreement, describing the ceremony as a “great day for Africa and the world”.

The next day, the Rwandan Foreign Minister, Oliver Nduhungirehe, informed the BBC that the country would not withdraw its troops from the DRC, denying that they were present in the region⁹. In November, Kinshasa signed a peace agreement in Qatar with the M23 group, excluded from the American-led agreement. Even if Minister for Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi asserted that sides have made progress on significant topics, several protocols remain to be discussed, and only two have been signed thus far, including on ceasefire monitoring and prisoner exchange¹⁰.

Image 2. U.S. President Donald Trump holds the hands of Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev and Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan as they shake hands between each other during a trilateral signing event, at the White House, in Washington, D.C., August 8, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque.

The Joint declaration on future relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan

In August, the Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed the Joint Declaration on future relations in Washington, DC¹¹. Though the Trump administration defined it as a “historic peace deal”, a more precise designation would be that of a political framework that needs more attention from the media, as criticized by many regional experts.

Tensions between the two parties had led to major wars in the 1990s and had concentrated on the control of the Nagorno-Karabakh region, historically Armenian, but internationally recognized as Azerbaijani. The parties agreed to refrain from the use of force and from asserting claims to disputed territories without appropriate legal channels.

The text further appealed for the termination of the OSCE Minsk process, a framework for negotiating settlement established in 1992¹². The agreement was accompanied by two memoranda: Armenia gained partnerships on various matters, including border security¹³, and Azerbaijan secured commitments in technology and energy¹⁴. This framework relies on premise of investments without any further institutional guarantee, a situation which may be misinterpreted by the neighboring countries Russia and Iran. Any measure addressing victims hasn’t been included¹⁵.

Image 3. President Donald Trump listens as Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a news conference in the East Room of the White House on Tuesday. Evan Vucci/AP

The 20-point peace plan between Israel and Hamas

At the end of September, President Trump unveiled the twenty-point peace plan between Israel and Hamas¹⁶. In the first week of October, the Palestinian group agreed to release all 48 remaining hostages, in exchange for detainees and the consideration of a technocrat government. Once the ceasefire is established, the United States, Qatar, Egypt and Turkey will endeavor to assist the parties in reaching a “strong, durable and everlasting peace”¹⁷. In the following weeks, the program encountered significant challenges in its maintenance due to the intensification of violence, as the UNRWA reports¹⁸. On November 17, the United Nations Security Council¹⁹ passed the US-drafted resolution for peace in the Gaza Strip by a vote of 13-0. The resolution provides the parties with a legal mandate to implement parts of the peace plan until the end of 2027, including the creation of an international stabilization force (ISF) and a board of peace, chaired by President Trump and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. The demonstration of concrete progress has proven challenging.

1.  US Department of state, Peace agreement between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of Rwanda, 27 June 2025, https://www.state.gov/peace-agreement-between-the-democratic-republic-of-the-congo-and-the-republic-of-rwanda ↩︎
2.  UN news, V. Mishra, “UN hails DRC Rwanda peace deal amid ongoing hostilities in the east”, 5 December 2025, https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/12/1166527 ↩︎
3.  IOM UN Migration, Democratic Republic of the Congo, April 2025, https://dtm.iom.int/dtm-insights/april-2025-edition/data-update-violence-and-crisis-democratic-republic-congo 
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4.  Amnesty International, “DRC: they said we would die – M23 and Wazalendo abuses in Eastern Congo”, 20 August 2025, https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/afr62/0145/2025/en/ ↩︎
5.  Security Council Report, UN documents for Democratic Republic of the Congo, https://www.securitycouncilreport.org/un-documents/democratic-republic-of-the-congo/ ↩︎
6.  ICCT, A. Baudon, “M23: a forgotten war and an overshadowed ceasefire”, 9 August 2024, https://icct.nl/publication/m23-forgotten-war-and-overshadowed-ceasefire ↩︎
7.  US Department of state, statement of tenets for the regional economic integration framework, 1 August 2025, https://www.state.gov/releases/bureau-of-african-affairs/2025/08/statement-of-tenets-for-the-regional-economic-integration-framework ↩︎
8.  UN news, “DR Congo: peace still elusive despite progress we see on paper”, 30 September 2025, https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/09/1166000 ↩︎
9.  BBC, E. Makumeno S. Cyuzuzo N. Booty and B. Debusmann Jr, “Trump hails historic peace deal between DRC and Rwanda”, 5 December 2025, https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjrjn88jqn4o ↩︎
10.  Ministry of foreign affairs, state of Qatar, signing of the Doha framework for peace between the government of the DRC and the Congo River Alliance (M23 movement)”, 15 November 2025, https://mofa.gov.qa/en/latest-articles/statements/signing-of-the-doha-framework-for-peace-between-the-government-of-the-democratic-republic-of-the-congo-and-the-congo-river-alliance-(m23-movement)  ↩︎
11.  US Department of state, United States published documents from historic Armenia and Azerbaijan meeting, 29 August 2025, https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2025/08/united-states-publishes-documents-from-historic-armenia-and-azerbaijan-meeting ↩︎
12.  OSCE, OSCE Minsk process and related structures (closed), https://www.osce.org/mg/108427 ↩︎
13.  US Department of state, memorandum of understanding between the government of USA and the government of the republic of Armenia regarding the crossroads of peace capacity building partnership, https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/2025MOUArmenia.pdf ↩︎
14.  US Department of state, memorandum of understanding between the government of the USA and the government of the Republic of Azerbaijan regarding the establishment of a strategic working group to develop a charter on strategic partnership”, https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/2025MOUArmenia.pd20-pointf ↩︎
15.  ICTJ, “a lasting peace deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan must address victims’ rights”, 2 December 2022, https://medium.com/@ICTJ/a-lasting-peace-deal-between-armenia-and-azerbaijan-must-address-victims-rights-bc6c28cdb507 ↩︎
16.  Middle East Eye, “full text of the agreement signed by Israel and Hamas to end the war on Gaza”, 10 October 2025, https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/full-text-agreement-signed-israel-and-hamas-end-war-gaza  ↩︎
17.  Council on foreign relations, M. Ferragamo, “a guide to the Gaza peace deal”, 19 November 2025, https://www.cfr.org/article/guide-trumps-twenty-point-gaza-peace-deal ↩︎
18.  UNRWA, “unrwa situation report #197 on the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza strip and the occupied west bank, including east Jerusalem”, 16 November 2025, https://www.unrwa.org/resources/reports/unrwa-situation-report-197-situation-gaza-strip-and-west-bank-including-east-jerusalem ↩︎
19.  UN Security Council, resolution 2803/2025, https://docs.un.org/en/s/res/2803(2025) ↩︎