Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo signed a peace agreement on Friday in Washington to end fighting that has killed thousands, with the two countries pledging to pull back support for guerrillas.

The two foreign ministers signed the deal brokered by the United States, Qatar and the African Union in the presence of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The agreement comes after the M23 rebel group, an ethnic Tutsi force widely linked to Rwanda, sprinted across the long-turbulent and mineral-rich east of the DRC earlier this year, seizing vast territory including the key city of Goma.

The deal does not explicitly address the gains of the M23 but calls for Rwanda to end "defensive measures" it has taken.

Rwanda has denied directly supporting the M23 rebels, but has demanded an end to another armed group, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), which was established by ethnic Hutus linked to the massacres of Tutsis in the 1994 Rwanda genocide.

Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe called the deal the "neutralisation" of the FDLR.

His Congolese counterpart, Therese Kayikwamba Wagner, highlighted the agreement's promises for a respect to sovereignty.

Trump has trumpeted the diplomacy that led to the deal, and publicly complained that he has not received a Nobel Peace Prize.

Speaking to reporters, Trump said that the United States will be able to secure "a lot of mineral rights from the Congo".

The DRC has enormous mineral reserves that include lithium and cobalt, vital in electric vehicles and other advanced technologies. (AFP)