DIPLOMACY | KAGAME | TSHISEKEDI

LUADA - President Paul Kagame of Rwanda has flown to Luada, Angola ahead of the expected face-to-face talks with his Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) counterpart, Felix Tshisekedi, over the simmering tension between Kigali and Kinshasha. 

In his approach to the DRC-Rwanda conflict, Kagame, this week said, he had prepared for the worst and best ahead of the proposed face-to-face talks with his counterpart Felix Tshisekedi in Angola.  

In an interview with the Rwanda Broadcasting Agency, Kagame said: “I wish for the best for both of us, DR Congo and Rwanda. But if the best doesn't come, it should always find me prepared for the worst. So, that is the first way I approach it. I prepare for the worst, but also wish for the best, and I wish Congo the best.”  

Kagame’s interview came against the backdrop of the forthcoming Angola summit where the DRC President, Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Kagame will hold face-to-face talks over the recent differences between Kigali and Kinshasa.  

The talks will be mediated by President Joao Lourenco, the chairperson of the International Conference of Great Lakes Region (ICGLR).  

While DRC officials allege that Rwanda supports M23 rebels, on the other hand, Rwanda also alleges that DRC supports the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a rebel group Kigali accuses of inciting genocide tendencies.  

To ease the tension, DRC, which suspended RwandaAir flights in May, released two Rwandan soldiers that officials in Kigali say were allegedly kidnapped last month along the Rwanda-DRC border.   

The release of the duo, Corporal Elysee Nkundabagenzi and Private Gad Ntwari, was on top of Rwanda’s negotiating agenda during the initial stages of the talks between Kagame and Tshisekedi.  

The Rwanda-DRC talks, which have also been endorsed by the African Union (AU) and the East African Community (EAC), started mid-last month with private talks between Lourenco, who is the mediator, and Presidents, Tshisekedi and Kagame.   

Lourenco hosted Tshisekedi in Angola, and Kagame was linked to the conversation with the Angola leader via a video conference.   

The Angolan leader said the talks aim at reducing the tension between the two East African Countries.