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French President Emmanuel Macron admitted French responsibility in the Rwandan genocide, during a visit to the Rwandan capital Kigali on Thursday, DW reported.

"Standing here today, with humility and respect, by your side, I have come to recognize our responsibilities," Macron said in a speech at the Kigali Genocide Memorial where more than 250,000 Tutsi are buried.

He said that France had a duty to admit the "suffering it inflicted on the Rwandan people by too long valuing silence over the examination of the truth."

Relations deteriorated after the 1994 genocide and Macron is the first French leader to visit the country in ten years.

Rwanda has repeatedly accused France of being complicit in the 1994 genocide that killed around 800,000 people, mostly Tutsi Rwandans and moderate Hutus.

A report by a French panel released in March said French officials bore "serious and overwhelming" responsibility for not foreseeing the slaughter. It said that a colonial attitude had blinded French officials. The report absolved France of direct complicity in the killings.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame, who has accused France of responsibility in the genocide, earlier said they could "maybe not forget, but forgive" France for its role.

In 1994, during the Rwandan civil war, then-President Juvenal Habyarimana's plane was shot down, killing him. This led to the genocide that lasted around 100 days.

"French officials armed, advised, trained, equipped and protected the Rwandan government," said the French report. Until now, France has denied a role in the killings.