On February 12, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot spoke with Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Francophonie of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The Minister expressed his deep concern over the deterioration of the situation in eastern DRC following the capture of Goma on January 28 and ongoing clashes in South Kivu near Bukavu. He reaffirmed France's unwavering support for the DRC's sovereignty and territorial integrity and reiterated France's condemnation of offensives by the M23 rebel group, which is actively supported by Rwanda,. He also repeated his call for Rwandan troops to withdraw from the DRC.
The Ministers discussed current regional initiatives to foster de-escalation, reach a ceasefire and return to the negotiating table. In this regard, Mr. Barrot hailed the Extraordinary Summit of Heads of State of the East African Community (EAC) and Southern African Development Community (SADC) on February 7 and 8 in Dar es Salaam, which called for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire and the opening of humanitarian corridors in the East to protect civilians.
The Minister stressed France's large-scale efforts within multilateral European and UN bodies to end this offensive.