WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State John Kerry announced on Tuesday that he has chosen former Sen. Russ Feingold as the new U.S. special representative for the Great Lakes region of Africa and the ongoing crisis in the Congo.

Congo’s government and rebels, known as the M23, have been negotiating in Uganda since December under a regional bloc, but the talks have often been set back by accusations over who is responsible for rampant violence in Congo’s North Kivu province.