France said today its envoy to Kigali will attend commemorations marking the 20th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide, denying a boycott after the justice minister's attendance was cancelled in a diplomatic row.
"The ambassador will be present at the ceremony presided over by (Rwandan President) Paul Kagame," French foreign ministry spokesman Romain Nadal said.
"There was never any question of a boycott of the ceremonies," he said. "Saturday's decision concerned only the justice minister's participation in the ceremony."
Paris announced yesterday that Justice Minister Christiane Taubira would not attend tomorrow's events, after Kagame again accused France, an ally of the Hutu nationalist government prior to the 1994 killings, of having helped the murder of 800,000 ethnic Tutsis take place.
Paris has repeatedly denied the accusations and insisted that French forces worked to protect civilians.
