Talks aimed at ending fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) could take longer as the warring parties seek to agree on lasting solutions, the mediator of the talks told reporters on Monday.

Crispus Kiyonga, who is also Uganda's minister of defense, said the matters they are dealing with are critical and therefore no time frame would be given.

"We are here to ensure that this dialogue succeeds either in a short time or a long time. The important thing is that we should have an agreement. There is no stalement, there are no delays .. peace talks are not a one day event," he said.

"The matters we are handling are not just going for lunch and go away. These are important national issues. These are important issues affecting people," he added.

The Uganda-mediated talks which are being held here were scheduled to end on Dec. 18 after they kicked off on Dec. 9. They have now been extended till Dec. 31.

Kiyonga said they have agreed on the rules of procedure of the talks apart from one sticky point that they have to agree on before the substantial talks starts. He declined to mention the sticky point.

On the alleged heavy deployment of Congolese government troops in Goma, the provincial capital of North Kivu and the deployment's impact on the talks, Kiyonga said the DRC's government is committed to the talks."That is a rumor. The government of the DRC is committed to these talks. They are willing partners in this dialogue. They cannot do anything which would destabilize the talks," he said.

DRC's foreign minister Raymond Tshibanda is heading the government's side while M23's Executive Secretary Francois Rucogoza is heading the rebel's side in the Uganda-mediated talks.

The talks are as a result of regional efforts aimed at ending the fighting between the M23 rebels and government troops which has internally displaced over 475,000 people and forced over 75, 000 others to flee to neighboring Rwanda and Uganda. During the talks each party accused the other of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity. They however vowed they are determined to end the fighting peacefully.