Democratic Republic of Congo is considering sending representatives to peace talks that Angola plans to host next week which would mark its first direct negotiations with the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group,

Angola has acted as a mediator in the conflict in eastern Congo, which escalated in late January when the Rwanda-backed rebels advanced and took control of the strategic eastern Congo city of Goma. In February, M23 seized Bukavu, eastern Congo’s second biggest city.

The Rwanda-backed M23 armed group cautiously welcomed Thursday the prospect of direct negotiations with the Congolese government to end the conflict in the volatile eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.