The United States is continuing its efforts, along with Rwanda, to mediate in the dispute.

The Ethiopian prime minister, Meles Zenawi, said in a BBC interview that he would accept the mediators' proposals for a peace deal but the Eritreans were prevaricating.

In Asmara, the Eritrean leader, Issayas Afewerke, told reporters he wanted a peaceful solution but the details still had to be worked out.