Rwandan President Paul Kagame accused the Congolese military of maintaining an "intense" collaboration with the extremist Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, or FDLR, in a March 26 interview published by Jeune Afrique on April 3. In the interview, Kagame hinted that Rwandan forces would not withdraw from the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo as long as Kinshasa fulfilled its obligations under their 2025 peace deal "only very partially or not at all," and he effectively accused the United States of bias in favor of Kinshasa.

Kagame and his Congolese counterpart, Felix Tshisekedi, signed a U.S.-brokered peace agreement in December 2025, but implementation has been slow, prompting Washington to impose sanctions on the Rwandan military. The publication of Kagame's interview follows Congolese authorities' formal launch of a voluntary disarmament program for FDLR fighters in late March, after the United States secured commitments from both countries to resume implementing the deal. It also comes after Congolese authorities approved U.S. mining company Virtus Minerals' takeover of Congo-focused miner Chemaf.