WASHINGTON, June 27. /TASS/. The Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda have signed a peace treaty.

The signing ceremony was held in Washington and was broadcast on the US Department of State’s YouTube channel.

The document was signed by Foreign Ministers Therese Kayikwamba of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Olivier Nduhungirehe of Rwanda in the presence of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The US-and Qatar-brokered agreement is geared to cease hostilities in the eastern DR Congo and paves the way to closer economic cooperation between the two countries. It has provisions on respecting each other’s territorial integrity, disarmament and integrating paramilitary groups, and establishing a joint mechanism for coordinating security issues. The sides also agreed to promote the return of refugees and displaced persons, proved humanitarian access and set up a regional economic integration structure. The agreement came into forces immediately after signing.

The conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, mostly in the resources-rich North and South Kivu provinces, has been smoldering for decades, killing hundreds of thousands and driving millions out of their homes. The DRC authorities blame neighboring Rwanda for supporting rebel groups operating in the eastern DRC. Rwanda, in turn, accuse the DRC of backing DRC-based paramilitary groups seeking to overthrow the Rwandan government and thus posing an existential threat to Rwanda.