DRC says EU's minerals deal with Rwanda is obvious double standard'

"The Democratic Republic of the Congo has accused the EU of an obvious double standard for maintaining a minerals deal with Rwanda to supply Europe's hi-tech industries when it deployed a far-wider sanctions regime in response to the war in Ukraine. Therese Kayikwamba Wagner, the DRC foreign minister, urged the EU to levy much stronger sanctions against Rwanda, which has fuelled the conflict in eastern DRC, describing the bloc's response to violations of DRC territory as very timid."

"The DRC and Rwanda signed a peace deal in June, brokered by the US and Qatar, aiming to end the decades-old conflict, which escalated early this year when the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group seized swathes of DRC territory, including two key cities. But deadly attacks on civilians have continued and a deadline to reach a peace agreement was missed in August."

The Democratic Republic of the Congo accuses the EU of a double standard for maintaining a minerals deal with Rwanda while imposing a far-wider sanctions regime on Russia over the war in Ukraine. DRC foreign minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner urged the EU to levy stronger sanctions against Rwanda, calling the bloc's response to violations of DRC territory very timid. The DRC and Rwanda signed a June peace deal brokered by the US and Qatar to end decades-long conflict after the Rwanda-backed M23 seized swathes of territory earlier this year. UN experts reported up to 4,000 Rwandan troops fighting alongside M23, while Rwanda denies support. President Félix Tshisekedi appealed to President Paul Kagame in Brussels to order M23 to stop the escalation, and Kigali rebutted his account.

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