UN chief: Rwanda intends to establish ties with Congo

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Rwanda intends to establish full diplomatic relations with Congo following a joint military operation that saw the neighbors and former enemies collaborate in hunting down an extremist militia, the UN chief said. Rwandan President Paul Kagame confirmed the plan during an hour-long meeting with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the president's offices. "I am heartened by his intention to establish full diplomatic relations," Ban told reporters Sunday, as he sat beside Kagame. Ban said he told Kagame during their private talk about "my satisfaction at the steps he has taken to open a new chapter" in the two nations' relations. Rwanda previously invaded Congo in 1996 and 1998, and left only after a 2002 peace agreement ended a war that drew in more than half a dozen African armies.