According to a joint statement from the three countries, President Paul Kagame, his President of Congo and his President of Congo, Dr. Felix Zisekedi and Chief of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani spoke in Doha on Tuesday, March 18th.
The Trilateral Summit welcomed the progress made in the Luanda and Nairobi process held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania on February 8th.
Joint Statement Text
“The Head of State has reaffirmed the commitment of all parties to an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, as agreed at the (Dar es Salaam) summit.”
“The head of state later agreed to the need to continue the discussions launched in Doha to establish a solid foundation for the permanent establishment of peace, as envisaged in the Luanda/Nairobi process.
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Rwanda raised concerns about his cooperation with Dr. Congo with the FDLR, a militia linked to the 1994 genocide, as well as the Congo president’s threat to overthrow allegations that Rwanda supports Dr. Congo’s AFC/M23 rebellion.
The unlicensed FDLR terrorist group, part of the Congolese Union of Governments against AFC/M23 rebels, has promoted persecution of the Congo’s Tutsi community. Over the past 20 years, the militia have also launched attacks on Rwanda.
Various regional and international efforts to bring peace to eastern Congo gained momentum in January after the AFC/M23 rebels took control of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province.
Also read: M23 withdraws from Luanda talks after EU sanctions
The rebels ruled PF Bukavu, the capital of South Kiv, as they demanded direct consultations with the government of Tshisekedi, which ruled out the possibility of negotiations to end the three-year conflict.
The first chance of direct negotiations collapsed on Tuesday after rebels said Monday that European Union sanctions weakened Angola’s mediation and encouraged the government’s coalition to continue military operations.
The Angola Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that peace negotiations failed due to “forced circumstances.”
