(Reuters) -Officials from the party of Democratic Republic of Congo's former President Joseph Kabila appeared before a military prosecutor on Monday in a sign of political tensions over advances by Rwanda-backed rebels in the east.

The US was open to exploring critical minerals partnerships with the DRC, the State Department said in a statement to Reuters on Sunday, after a Congolese senator contacted US officials to pitch a minerals-for-security deal.

Democratic Republic of Congo is considering sending representatives to peace talks with the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group that Angola plans to host next week, two government sources said on Thursday,

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. M23 seized Bukavu, eastern Congo’s second biggest city, last month.

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.