US Expects Rwandan Troop Withdrawal by Mid-Next Month, Says Rubio

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says Washington expects Rwanda to move toward withdrawing its troops from eastern Democratic Republic of Congo by the middle of next month, while warning that compliance with the DRC-Rwanda peace agreement has not been good enough.

Speaking before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on the FY27 Department of State budget request, Rubio said the peace deal signed between the DRC and Rwanda remains one of the difficult foreign policy files being monitored by the United States.

“On DRC and Rwanda, they signed a peace agreement. Unfortunately, compliance has not been good,” Rubio said.

He added that the United States had already been forced to impose sanctions because of the slow implementation of the agreement.

Rubio said Washington is beginning to see some movement from Rwanda, but stressed that the process is still not happening fast enough.

“On the Rwandan side, we are starting to see some compliance. It’s moving, not moving fast enough,” he said.

Rubio also said there is timeline for Rwandan troop withdrawal from DRC. According to him, the United States hopes to see compliance “in the middle part of next month” regarding the withdrawal of Rwandan forces from eastern DRC.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s latest comments come almost a year after the US brokered a peace deal between Rwanda and the DRC to end the fighting in eastern Congo. The agreement called for the withdrawal of Rwandan forces from Congolese territory and de-escalation steps.

Implementation has been repeatedly stalled, with Washington admitting Rwanda has failed to meet its commitments. In response, the US sanctioned the entire Rwandan army (RDF) as an entity, along with four senior RDF generals and other figures tied to the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels, plus actors fueling instability in eastern DRC. The goal is to pressure all parties to honor the deal.

The statement is significant because it publicly confirms that Washington is linking Rwanda’s compliance to troop withdrawal and that the United States is still watching the situation closely.

Rubio also made clear that even if Rwanda begins withdrawing troops, the M23 issue remains unresolved.

“Of course, we still have the M23 problem that has to be addressed,” he said.

Rubio’s words strengthen the argument that the crisis in eastern Congo is not only about local rebellion, but also about Rwanda’s military role and its failure to fully respect peace commitments.

The comments also show that U.S. sanctions are now being used as pressure tools to push implementation of the peace process.

For Rubio Rwanda is showing signs of compliance, but Washington does not believe the process is moving fast enough. The next major test will be whether Rwanda makes visible progress on troop withdrawal by mid-next month.