Kagame agrees to meet Tshisekedi over eastern DR Congo crisis

LUANDA, Angola

Rwanda's President Paul Kagame has agreed to meet with his Democratic Republic of the Congo counterpart Felix Tshisekedi to discuss the ongoing crisis in eastern Congo, the Angolan government has said.

The agreement followed a meeting on Monday in Angola's capital Luanda between Mr Kagame and Angolan President João Lourenço, the African Union's (AU) mediator, in the DR Congo crisis.

"It was decided that President Kagame would agree to meet President Tshisekedi on a date to be indicated by the mediator," Angola's Foreign Minister Tete Antonio told the press after the meeting.

Mr Antonio said that both Rwanda and the DR Congo had agreed to hold the meeting, with ministerial delegations from both sides working toward the plan.

Rwanda's presidency said on X that the two leaders "agreed on key steps towards addressing the root causes of the conflict".

President Kagame's trip to Angola follows a similar visit by Mr Tshisekedi to Luanda last month, during which it was announced that the DR Congo leader had agreed to meet with his Rwandan counterpart.

But Mr Tshisekedi demanded the withdrawal of Rwandan troops from the Congolese territory before meeting President Kagame, the DR Congo presidency said.

Fighting between M23 rebels and Congolese forces has flared in the DR Congo's east, forcing more than 100,000 people to flee their homes in recent weeks, according to the UN.

DR Congo has accused Rwanda of backing M23 rebels, an accusation that Kigali denies.