Sources: Luxembourg surprises EU foreign ministers by opposing Rwandan sanctions for now

EU foreign ministers agreed on Monday to impose political sanctions against Rwanda and the rebel group M23 it is supporting to capture more territory in DR Congo. The details of these sanctions are still to be determined.

The EU will however not suspend its memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Rwanda regarding access to raw materials. The EU foreign ministers agreed to “review” the MOU on critical commodities.

But sources close to the European External Action Service (EEAS) have told Euronews on Tuesday that Luxembourg now opposes the Rwanda sanctions, asking EU partners to withhold them until Friday, while African foreign ministers are still trying to secure a ceasefire in DR Congo.

Luxembourg’s position at the EU Foreign Ministers Council on Monday was that sanctions against Rwanda are counterproductive.

Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister Xavier Bettel surprised his counterparts by being the only EU foreign minister to speak out against the Rwandan sanctions, while he agreed to sanctions against the M23 rebels.

The EU has been mulling whether to freeze a mineral resources deal with Rwanda over its involvement in the fighting in the eastern DRC, part of a decades-long conflict which has its roots in ethnic tension.

The Rwanda-backed M23 fighters say they are protecting the rights of the region’s Tutsi ethnic group. However, the DRC’s government accuses Rwanda of supporting the rebels in a bid to take control of the mineral-rich region.

M23 fighters took Goma, the region’s largest city, in late January, before seizing Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province, earlier in February.

The UN has called on the M23 and its Rwandan backers “to immediately halt violations of human rights”.

Tens of thousands of people have been displaced as a result of the fighting, according to the UN.