As the fighting in Goma may have claimed 3,000 lives, according to preliminary figures from Congo’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner was in Brussels on Wednesday, February 5, 2025, to present the DRC’s case to the European Union and Belgium. She met with Belgium’s Minister of Foreign Affairs.
During this period, the President of the EU Commission, António Costa, called both Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame.
In his conversation with António Costa, President Paul Kagame emphasized the “strong partnership between Rwanda and the European Union,” a partnership that Belgium is urging its European partners to suspend.
He stated:
“I had a good conversation with the President of the European Union Commission, António Costa, where we discussed the DRC crisis and agreed that strong measures should be taken to end the conflict and prioritize dialogue and lasting peace. We emphasized that all parties involved must take responsibility for seeking a solution and act with honesty, despite the complexity of the issue. We also discussed the strong cooperation between the European Union and Rwanda in key sectors.”
For Thérèse Kayikwamba, the European delay in imposing sanctions on Rwanda is a major concern, according to the report by RFI.
She said:
“When peacekeeping forces are killed by the Rwandan army and the M23 without consequences, we must question what international legal frameworks still mean for all the countries within the European Union.”
She further stated:
“Kigali has not yet been sanctioned by its partners, including the European Union.”
Before Thérèse Wagner, Belgium’s new Minister of Foreign Affairs, Maxime Prévôt, openly told her that there were “difficulties in convincing” the European Union to “impose even mild sanctions on Rwanda.”
Belgium’s Foreign Minister pointed fingers at another European country, accusing it of blocking EU sanctions against Rwanda.
Belgium argued that the EU’s hesitation and lack of decisive measures could be interpreted as support for the M23 and its allies.
On France 24, Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Olivier Nduhungirehe, responded to allegations in various UN expert reports that claim Rwandan troops are fighting alongside M23 rebels in eastern DRC.
He stated that the number of reports from the same expert group does not make the allegations true.
“We have always rejected those reports.”
