Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrived in Kinshasa on Wednesday for a "
private visit
" during which a meeting is nevertheless planned with the Congolese head of state Félix Tshisekedi, against the backdrop of the crisis between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, we learned from airport and official Congolese sources.
According to the Africa Intelligence
newsletter
, which revealed this trip "
supposed to remain confidential
", Félix Tshisekedi would have asked the former French president "
to facilitate the beginning of a dialogue
" with Rwandan President Paul Kagame, "
of whom Nicolas Sarkozy is near
”.
M23 Rebellion
Historically complicated, relations between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo have been execrable since the resurgence at the end of 2021 of the M23 rebellion (“
March 23 Movement
”), which has seized large swathes of northern territory for a year. -Kivu, in eastern DRC.
Kinshasa accuses Kigali of supporting this rebellion, which has been corroborated by UN experts and denounced by Western chancelleries, although Kigali denies it.
Several initiatives for a de-escalation have been launched in Africa and the current French president himself, Emmanuel Macron, played the facilitators last September for a meeting between Felix Tshisekedi and Paul Kagame.
But the rebellion then resumed its progress with renewed vigor.
Visiting Kinshasa on March 4, the last stage of a tour of Central Africa, Emmanuel Macron had not clearly condemned Rwanda, as the Congolese asked him to, but issued firm warnings, including in Kigali.
Read alsoMacron wants to redefine the military system in Africa
There is no mediation project in the Rwandan aggression that would be entrusted to Nicolas Sarkozy.
Tina Salama, spokesperson for the Congolese president
"
The arrival in our country of the former French president is in no way at the initiative of the president of the DRC
", affirmed on Twitter Tina Salama, spokesperson for Félix Tshisekedi, adding: "
there is no mediation project in the Rwandan aggression which would be entrusted to Nicolas Sarkozy
”.
“
That being so
,” she added, President Tshisekedi “
will be delighted to receive him during his private visit to Kinshasa
.”
According to an airport source, Nicolas Sarkozy arrived shortly before 5:00 p.m. (4:00 p.m. Paris time) at Kinshasa International Airport, on a special flight from Paris.
Under his presidency (2007-2012), France and Rwanda were officially reconciled, after the accusations of "
complicity
" in genocide brought by Kigali against Paris for its support for the Rwandan Hutu regime responsible for the death in 1994 of 800,000 people, mainly Tutsis.
Nicolas Sarkozy had recognized in 2010 "
serious errors of assessment
" and a "
form of blindness
" of France.