Politics
Rwanda rejects France’s choice of ambassador
Contini, considered close to former foreign minister Bernard Kouchner, fell out of favor with Juppe last year after making statements considered too favorable to Kigali.
Juppe, who was also foreign minister during the Rwandan genocide in 1994, has said he will not “shake hands” with Kagame or go to Rwanda following the release of a 2008 report accusing France of complicity in the genocide.
Juppe, who has dismissed the report as “lies and fabrications”, did not meet his Rwandan counterpart when she visited France and was outside the country during Kagame’s visit.
However, Kigali said its relations with France were “above individuals.”
“There should be no doubt about the continued commitment to building strong diplomatic, economic and cultural ties between the governments and people of Rwanda and France,” Mushikiwabo told AFP.
“We consider that our relations with France are above individuals and in mutual interest of our two countries.”
France and Rwanda have a history of difficult ties and relations between the two countries were broken off between 2006 and 2009.
