Zitat:Last weekend, Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi offered the United States and Europe access to his country’s vast mineral wealth in return for intervention to end a spiraling Rwandan-backed insurgency in the eastern Congo, a region rich in natural resources with over half of global cobalt reserves. The offer represents an opportunity for the United States and other Western democratic partners to deepen relations with Kinshasa, gain access to critical minerals, partially mitigate fallout of recent Western retreat from the Sahel, and stem rising authoritarian influence in Africa. Such a win-win deal would be consistent with a US Africa strategy that “puts America and its interests first.” But there is another dimension that should not be ignored: if the United States does not “get to yes” with Kinshasa, there is a large risk that it could turn to Russia.

Tshisekedi’s minerals-for-peace offer comes amid declining Western influence, and growing Russian influence, in the region. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is a likely target of Russian intervention on the continent for three reasons: the country’s historical ties to Moscow, its frustration with current international intervention amid a worsening insurgency, and its abundance of natural resources.