WASHINGTON, United States: US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on Wednesday that Kenyan President William Ruto has confirmed that his country will send a mission to Haiti after a transitional council is formed in the coming days.
Blinken confirmed Ruto’s account, saying Ruto told him in a phone call that Kenya intends to send troops “as soon as the new council is stood up, which we believe will happen in the next couple of days.”
Kenyan President William Ruto has approved plans to send troops to Haiti, Blinken said, and a transitional council meeting is expected to make progress within the next few days.
Kenya has offered to lead a security mission in violence-torn Haiti, largely funded by the United States and Canada, but a deal brokered by Caribbean and U.S. leaders led Ariel Henry to announce that the mission would end after the prime minister’s resignation.
Ruto “confirmed Kenya’s preparedness to lead that mission just as soon as this new council is stood up — which we believe will happen in the next couple of days — and an interim president is elected,” Blinken added.
The US official also acknowledged the challenges ahead for Haiti, where public order has broken down and armed gangs control most of the capital city.
“None of this is easy. None of this is going to happen from one day to the next,” Blinken said.
But, he added, at least there is a plan, a process in place, to do that.
