Rwanda sanctions will undermine push for Congo peace talks, proscribed minister says

FILE PHOTO: Members of the M23 rebel group ride on a pickup truck as they leave their position for patrols amid conflict between them and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC), in Goma, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, January 29, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

NAIROBI (Reuters) - International sanctions against Rwanda will reduce the incentive for Kinshasa to engage in peace talks with M23 rebels who have made lightning advances in eastern Congo this year, a proscribed Rwandan minister has said.

"As they push for sanctions against Rwanda, (Congo's president), seeing that Rwanda is being targeted, will refuse to participate in any negotiations," James Kabarebe, a Rwandan state minister for foreign affairs, said in a speech on Tuesday.