President Jacob Zuma and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame have agreed to hold direct talks to discuss the ongoing diplomatic spat between the two countries. Diplomatic relations between the two countries are currently low following back-to-back expulsions of diplomats.
The simmering tensions were discussed at the Great Lakes Region Security Summit which took place in Luanda, Angola. The two leaders met face to face since the expulsion of senior diplomats by both sides.
Zuma says they have agreed to solve the problem. “We also agreed to share some detailed information and deal with the issues.”
He adds: “ We, as South Africa have an international obligation that when people come to us for refugee status we’ve got to give them. There was an agreement that the two countries should meet and that has been accepted.”
Meanwhile, on Tuesday Great Lakes regional leaders met in Luanda to try to resolve the security crisis in the Central African Republic and South Sudan.
The security summit reviewed progress made in ridding the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo of militias after the defeat of the M23 rebel group.
Zuma and six other heads of state attended the summit. The meeting was the second within three months.
Whilst there is relative peace in the eastern DRC, there is still concern over the slow pace of disarming in the volatile mineral-rich area. South Sudan’s peace talks have stalled.
Source: SABC
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