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French, Rwandan presidents hold rare meeting amid tense diplomatic ties

Kagame (left) and Macron meet in New York. PHOTO FLICKRKagame

Kigali, Rwanda | AFP | Rwandan President Paul Kagame has met with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron in New York for rare talks, Kigali said Tuesday, as diplomatic ties remain icy over the 1994 genocide.

Kigali has long accused France of complicity in the genocide of some 800,000 mostly ethnic Tutsis, at the hands of Hutu extremists, angering Paris and straining relations.

The Rwandan presidency said in a statement on Twitter that Kagame and Macron on Monday discussed “collaboration on issues of mutual interest including peace (and) security in Africa”, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

Rwandan political commentator Christopher Kayumba, said the meeting in New York was a “good sign that the relationship between the two could be better than with previous French presidents”.

“Both presidents are meeting for the first time and are still trying to study each other and create a relationship beyond the historic mistrust between both countries,” he said.

 

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