On Monday 24 February, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, announced the suspension of EU defence consultations with Rwanda.
Ms Kallas also reaffirmed Europe’s unwavering support for the territorial integrity of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) at a time when the offensive in Kivu by the M23 armed rebel group, backed by Kigali, continues to threaten the stability of the region.
“Territorial integrity is not negotiable in Congo as well as in Ukraine. The UN Charter applies everywhere. We support the Luanda-Naïrobi peace process, clearly to achieve the results by diplomatic means”, declared the former Estonian Prime Minister at a press conference held after the meeting of European foreign affairs ministers.
“EU defence consultations with Rwanda have been suspended”, she announced.
The EU’s partnership with Rwanda includes funding for Rwandan troops in Cabo Delgado (Mozambique) as part of a regional mission to combat jihadist terrorism (see EUROPE 13526/5) and a Memorandum of Understanding on critical raw materials (see EUROPE 13353/7). However, this MOU “will be under review”, said the head of the EU’s diplomatic service on Monday.
Since the beginning of February, the European Parliament has been calling for the immediate suspension of this protocol, among other restrictive measures (see EUROPE 13579/12) and, according to some European diplomats, EU countries are already “aligned” with such a decision (see EUROPE 13585/1).
“There is also a political decision to impose sanctions depending on the situation on the ground. We have urged Rwanda to withdraw its troops”, said Ms Kallas, without giving any further details.
The Belgian position. At the opening of the Council of Ministers on Monday, Belgium’s new Minister of Foreign Affairs, Maxime Prévot, reaffirmed his desire to see European countries adopt sanctions against Kigali - which suspended its development cooperation with Belgium in reaction to Belgium’s stance in the conflict.
Mr Prévot also called on Europe “not to be less strict than the United States”, which last Thursday imposed targeted sanctions against Rwandan leaders.
In Geneva. On Monday, at the 58th session of the UN Human Rights Council, the Prime Minister of the DRC, Judith Tuluka Suminwa, deplored the deaths of “more than 7,000 Congolese” since the resurgence of the conflict and called for the adoption of dissuasive sanctions in order to “restore order and security”.
In Kigali. For his part, Rwandan President Paul Kagame met the British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs on Sunday 23 February, posting on X that “Rwanda is committed to a peaceful resolution but its legitimate security interests must be recognised and respected”. (Original version in French by Bernard Denuit)