Tshisekedi, Kagame to hold talks as eastern DRC conflict escalates
Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame are expected to hold talks on simmering tensions between the two countries, reads the East African.
After his meeting with Angola’ President João Lourenço, the African Union mediator in the Congolese crisis, Prsident Kagame said he is open to a sit-down with President Tshisekedi.
According to Angolan Foreign Affairs Minister Tete Antonio, both Rwanda and the DRC have agreed to the principle to hold the meeting, with ministerial delegations from both sides working toward this goal. The Congolese leader told President Lourenço that he was ready for the talks. on February 22, President Tshisekedi told the media in Kinshasa that he was ready to “see him.”
Read: Tshisekedi open to meeting Kagame over Congo crisis
But the efforts could be throttled by sideline battles including a suit at the East African Court of Justice loged by Kinshasa. On Monday, March 11, while opening a training workshop for journalists from the East African Community in Arusha, EACJ president Nestor Kayobera said that the DRC had lodged a complaint against Rwanda, “but we can’t discuss that with you now because it’s a case that’s already underway.”
If the two countries start facing off at the EACJ, the new diplomatic move may face challenges. But Kinshasa says courts are part of the strategy.
