Luanda will not mediate in the DRC crisis negotiations preferring to focus on its new role as the current African Union Presidency.
Despite the surprise pullout of mediation role, Angola received President Félix Tshisekedi on Wednesday for bilateral talks with President João Lourenço.
This bilateral meeting took place in a sensitive diplomatic context, marked by the recent direct resumption of dialogue between President Tshisekedi and President Paul Kagame of Rwanda in Doha, Qatar.
In December 2024 an attempt to bring together the two leaders for dialogue failed in Luanda, as President Kagame did not show up.
Kigali then made its participation conditional on direct dialogue between Kinshasa and the AFC/M23 rebel group, which the DRC refused.
On March 18, Kinshasa agreed to meet with the AFC/M23 as part of the Luanda process, but this time it was the rebels who refused to participate, denouncing European sanctions targeting some of their leaders.
These two successive failures prompted Angola to terminate its mediation efforts.
On Monday, the SADC and EAC heads of state decided to merge the Luanda and Nairobi processes. A new panel of five facilitators was appointed to steer a joint roadmap aimed at relaunching political dialogue, preventing further military escalation, and establishing a ceasefire verification mechanism.
At the same time, Qatar continues to play a discreet role in mediation efforts, maintaining an open channel of discussion between Kigali and Kinshasa.
