Two weeks enough for M23, DR Congo talks – facilitator

There is renewed commitment among both DR Congo and M23 delegations to conclude peace talks within 14 days as directed by regional leaders, Uganda’s Minister for Defence and facilitator of the negotiations, Dr Crispus Kiyonga said yesterday.Kiyonga made the remarks at a news conference also attended by acting head of DRC delegation François Mwamba and Rene Abandi, head of the M23 delegation.The talks resumed yesterday in Kampala.The minister said that the 14 days was a time well thought out by Heads of State from the ICGLR.“We shall finish in time…..you cannot think of failing an exam before you do it. We shall cross the bridge when we reach it,” Kiyonga said in reaction to a question. Kiyonga underscored the need for a political settlement of the crisis in eastern DRC, saying that by the time the UN intervention brigade was deployed, guns had gone silent as a result of the moral authority of regional Heads of State.“We hope that the UN will respect the decision of the ICGLR Heads of State. Any shelling and shooting should stop because we cannot talk peace and fight at the same time,” he said.

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Two weeks enough for M23, DR Congo talks – facilitator