Rwanda announced the severing of diplomatic relations with Belgium on the same day that a new list of EU sanctions targeting Rwandan officials was published.
“The Rwandan government today notified the Belgian government of its decision to sever diplomatic relations, with immediate effect,” an official statement posted on the Rwandan Foreign Ministry’s website said.
It also added:
“All Belgian diplomats in Rwanda must leave the country within 48 hours. In accordance with the Vienna Convention, Rwanda will protect the premises, property and archives of the Belgian diplomatic mission in Kigali. The decision was taken after analysing factors related to Belgium’s attempts to preserve its neo-colonial illusions. Belgium has consistently undermined Rwanda’s position, both long before and during the ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), in which Belgium plays an important historical role, especially in actions against Rwanda.”
Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot said that Brussels regrets Kigali’s decision and believes that the expulsion of diplomats shows Rwanda’s unwillingness to engage in dialogue on contentious issues.
“Belgium will take similar measures: Declaring Rwandan diplomats persona non grata and cancelling our intergovernmental co-operation agreements,” he wrote on social network X.
DRC accuses Rwanda of supporting Tutsi rebels from the 23 March Movement (M23) group in the east of the republic. On January 26, Kinshasa severed relations with Kigali after the rebels launched an offensive on the Congolese town of Goma.
On February 22, the rebel coalition Alliance of the Congo River (AFC), which includes the M23, said it was ready to negotiate a settlement to the conflict in eastern DRC. At the same time, the rebels stressed that they reserved the right to protect civilians.
