All eyes are on Washington today, where Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame are meeting in what has been described as a “historic” encounter to sign a peace agreement brokered by the United States.
The meeting follows months of U.S.-led mediation that began last April, resulting initially in a preliminary agreement between the two countries’ foreign ministers in June, and later in a framework for regional economic integration in November.
However, the diplomatic progress has not halted fighting on the ground, as clashes continue between the Congolese army and M23 rebels, whom Kinshasa accuses Rwanda of supporting. Kigali, meanwhile, maintains that the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda — largely composed of former Hutu fighters — remain a major threat.
Recent weeks have seen the two presidents exchange accusations, with Tshisekedi accusing Kagame of “stabbing him in the back,” while Kagame accused him of failing to honor previous commitments, describing the Washington meeting as merely “a step in the right direction.”
