Paul Kagame provides cautious welcome to US-brokered settlement, however says success depends upon goodwill from combatants.
Rwandan President Paul Kagame has cautiously welcomed a United States-brokered peace cope with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), whereas suggesting Kigali will retaliate if provoked.
Talking at a information convention in Kigali on Friday, Kagame mentioned Rwanda remained dedicated to the settlement however questioned whether or not Kinshasa would uphold its a part of the deal.
“If the aspect that we’re working with performs tips and takes us again to the issue, then we cope with the issue like we’ve been coping with it,” Kagame mentioned.
The settlement, backed by the administration of US President Donald Trump, was signed final week and requires Rwandan troops to withdraw from jap DRC inside 90 days.
The area has seen intense preventing this yr, with M23 rebels seizing main cities. The United Nations has accused Rwanda of backing the group with hundreds of troops – an allegation Kigali denies.
Whereas the peace deal is seen as a turning level, analysts don’t consider it’s going to rapidly finish the preventing as a result of M23 – a significant belligerent within the battle – says the settlement doesn’t apply to it.
M23 rebels in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, after seizing the town in January 2025 (Moses Sawasawa/AP)
US ‘to not blame’ if deal fails
Rwanda insists its navy presence in jap DRC is a response to threats from the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), an armed group made up of ethnic Hutu fighters linked to the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
Kagame mentioned Kinshasa should act to dismantle the FDLR if the deal is to succeed.
“We’re grateful to the Trump administration for its efforts,” he mentioned. “If it doesn’t work, they aren’t those accountable.”
There was no official response from Kinshasa, which has persistently accused Rwanda of fuelling the battle.
Rwanda-backed M23 is essentially the most outstanding armed group within the battle in jap DRC, and its main advance early this yr left our bodies on the streets. With 7 million folks displaced in DRC, the UN has referred to as it “some of the protracted, advanced, critical humanitarian crises on Earth”.
M23 has not been concerned within the US-mediated efforts, though it has been a part of different peace talks. On Thursday, each the Congolese authorities and M23 representatives agreed that they might return to Qatar for additional discussions geared toward ending the battle.
In the meantime, Washington has proposed a separate funding plan that might enable Western corporations to faucet into the area’s wealthy deposits of tantalum, copper, and gold – assets which have lengthy fuelled violence in jap DRC.
Kagame’s look on Friday marked his first public remarks since June 6, prompting hypothesis throughout his absence about his well being. Dissidents overseas, together with former adviser David Himbara, claimed the president was severely unwell.
Kagame dismissed the rumours with a joke. “A few of my private well being issues would possibly originate from managing you folks,” he mentioned, sparking laughter.
“What’s the downside? What would folks need me to account for? That I’m not human?” he added. The president appeared in good well being all through the briefing.
