In an exclusive interview with FRANCE 24, Rwandan President Paul Kagame discussed the tense relations between his country and neighbouring DR Congo. He said Rwanda is "ready" to go to war with DR Congo if necessary.

"We are ready to fight," he declared. "We are not afraid of anything."

In response to recent accusations by his Congolese counterpart Felix Tshisekedi that Rwanda is organising "a genocide" in eastern DR Congo, Kagame accused Tshisekedi, on the contrary, of orchestrating the return of a "genocide ideology" in eastern DR Congo aimed at Congolese Tutsis.

"What actually is taking place in eastern Congo should be understood even by the person who leads that country. He does seem to have a selective memory of what to call what is happening there," Kagame said. "To ignore that and to want to call it something else, somewhere else by somebody, I think you have to be missing something in your mind."

Kagame refused to confirm the presence of Rwandan soldiers on Congolese soil, despite Western countries making this accusation more and more openly. "Why don't we look at the root cause of this problem?" he asked, referring to the presence of M23 rebels in eastern DR Congo.

Finally, the Rwandan president, who is running for re-election for a fourth term, denied that the presidential vote scheduled for July 15 was rigged and a foregone conclusion.

He also reacted for the first time to accusations by a consortium of media outlets that he is conducting a campaign of repression and assassination against his opponents in Rwanda and abroad.

France24