The Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda have agreed to "reduce tensions" following weeks of tensions in the eastern part of the DRC, the Congolese president's office said on Wednesday after mediation talks.
But a mediator in the negotiations, Angolan President Joao Lourenco, went on to announce "a ceasefire" - though he did not provide details.
Violence has erupted between Congolese troops and M23 rebels and is continuing.
The DRC has repeatedly accused Rwanda of backing the M23, a case that the small central African country has always denied.
"I am pleased to announce that we have had good results, in our view, by agreeing to stop the fighting, among other things," Lourenco noted at the end of a small meeting attended by Paul Kagame of Rwanda and Congo. Felix Tshisekedi in the Angolan capital Luanda.
Tshisekedi's office said a "framework" had been set up to facilitate relations with officials, including ending the M23 military coup in the eastern DRC.
The announcements came after a day-long discussion by a Rwandan broadcaster who reported that they had "concluded with an agreed road map to end hostilities".
But the Rwanda Broadcasting Agency stressed that it was agreed that the M23 issue should be "dealt with internally within the Nairobi policy framework."
The Congolese Tutsi rebel group, the M23 - or "March 23 Movement" - first emerged when it captured the eastern Congolese city of Goma in 2012 before being jointly ousted by the UN-Congolese.
The Congolese army is carrying troops toward Kibumba in the area around the North Kivu city of Goma on May 25, 2022, during clashes between Congolese troops and M23 rebels. Posted by Arlette Bashizi (AFP / File)
After years of sleepless nights, the M23 resumed war last November after accusing the Congolese government of failing to meet an agreement to enlist its troops.
Extreme fighting has caused rebels to make significant progress in eastern Congo. Last month, M23 troops captured the strategic town of Bunagana on the Congo-Uganda border, for example.
At the end of Wednesday's talks, the Congolese Presidency said the three presidents had decided to "postpone tensions between the DRC and Rwanda".
This includes establishing a DRC-Rwanda joint committee, which is due to hold its first meeting in Luanda on July 12, and a roadmap to improve relations.
The M23 must end fighting under the guidance, according to the Congolese presidency, and "the exploitation of natural resources in the region must be done with the utmost respect for provincial sovereignty".
Lourenco, who is also chair of the International Conference for the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), mediated the talks at the request of the African Union after the violence escalated into a dispute between two neighbors.
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