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The negotiations in Arusha from last July have already resulted in a ceasefire agreement that came into force on August 1 and the signing of a protocol of understanding on the rule of law.
"Although the two sides still fear and mistrust each other, there are indications that both are tired of the 23-month-old civil war that has plunged their tiny, poor country into great human suffering and economic ruin," a diplomat attending the talks as an observer said.
The predominantly Tutsi RPF rebels, who have lived in Uganda as refugees for more than three decades, invaded their country on October 2, 1990 in an attempt to overthrow the 19-year-old Hutu-dominated government of President Juvenal Habyarimana.
The Tutsi were traditional rulers over the Hutu majority in Rwanda before they were driven out in an uprising in the early 1960s, forcing thousands of them into exile in Uganda and neighbouring countries of the region.
Attempts in recent years by the refugees to return home and participate in their country's government were resisted by the administration in Kigali, which cited shortage of land to settle the returnees in one of the most densely populated nations in the world.
The ongoing peace talks are also being attended by representatives from Belgium, Burundi, France, Uganda, United States, Zaire and the Organisation of African Unity.
hb/lto/nb AFP AFP SEQN-0274
