Tshisekedi, Kagame trade barbs at Brussels Gateway Forum over DRC conflict
Rwanda's Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe fired back on X (formerly Twitter), saying President Félix Tshisekedi was "completely mistaken".
Tensions between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda spilt into the open in Belgium on Thursday, October 9.
This is after DRC President Félix Tshisekedi used the Global Gateway Forum in Brussels to publicly urge Rwandan President Paul Kagame to stop supporting M23 rebels in eastern Congo - a claim Kigali swiftly rejected.
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Speaking at the Forum, organised by the European Union (EU), Tshisekedi appealed directly to Kagame moments after the Rwandan leader's address.
"I call this forum as witness, and through it the entire world, to reach out my hand to you, Mr President, so that we may make peace," Tshisekedi said.
"This requires you to order the M23 troops supported by your country to stop this escalation, which has already caused enough deaths."
Kagame, who had avoided mention of the conflict in his speech, instead alluded to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa's earlier comment that he could "feel the energy for making peace" between the two leaders.
"Some of us also felt the same," Kagame said. "We felt the positive energy about business, investment, peace."
Rwanda's Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe later fired back on X (formerly Twitter), saying Tshisekedi was "completely mistaken."
"The only one who can stop this escalation is President Tshisekedi, and he alone," Nduhungirehe wrote, accusing Kinshasa of provoking the crisis.
In a follow-up statement, Nduhungirehe accused the Congolese president of turning a major economic summit into "a ridiculous political comedy," adding that Tshisekedi's accusations were "shameless lies" meant to deflect blame for a conflict "he himself provoked."
The heated exchange underscored the deepening diplomatic rift between Kinshasa and Kigali, whose relations have deteriorated over the DRC's accusation that Rwanda backs the M23 rebellion—an allegation Rwanda denies.
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