Rwandan President Paul Kagame has emphasized that the agreement signed on June 27, 2025, in Washington between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is part of a broader framework encompassing two parallel tracks: a security track under the U.S.-sponsored agreement, and a political track through ongoing negotiations in Qatar involving the Congolese government and the M23 movement.
Speaking at a press conference marking the 31st anniversary of Rwanda’s liberation, Kagame pointed to the pivotal role of the March 2025 tripartite meeting in Doha—which brought him together with Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani—as essential to reaching the agreement. He described the two tracks as “two sides of the same coin” in addressing a deeply rooted crisis.
Kagame denied Rwanda’s responsibility for the internal conflict in the DRC and reiterated his country’s commitment to implementing the deal, which includes the withdrawal of Rwandan forces from eastern Congo within 90 days and curbing the activities of armed groups such as the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR).
He warned, however, that any “tricks” from the Congolese side would be met with a reciprocal response, while praising both Qatar and the United States for their role in engineering potential solutions to the crisis.
