France's acceptance in a report this year that it bore a responsibility for the 1994 genocide in Rwanda marked a "big step forward" in repairing relations between the two countries, Rwandan president Paul Kagam ésaid on Monday, reports US News & World Report.
A commission established by President Emmanuel Macron concluded in March that France had been blinded by its colonial attitude to events leading up to the genocide and bore "serious and overwhelming" responsibility. However, the nearly 1,000-page report absolved France of complicity in the killings.
"When you talk about overwhelming responsibility ... that means a lot," the Rwandan president told France 24. "This is a big step forward. Maybe not forget (the past) but forgive it and be able to move forward."
Kagamé has previously said the French participated in the genocide. On Monday, the Rwandan leader said there was grounds for good relations between the two nations and that he hoped France would send an ambassador to Kigali.
Kagamé was in Paris for a summit on post-pandemic financing for African nations hosted by Macron. The French president is due to visit Rwanda later this month.