Rwanda is prepared to resume co-operation with the United Nations tribunal which is trying suspects from the 1994 genocide.

Rwandan Vice-President and Defence Minister Paul Kagame said on Thursday it was important that the government maintain links with the International War Crimes Tribunal.

"There were some difficulties a couple of months back, but I think these can and have been overcome," he said.

The announcement followed a meeting with the UN's chief war crimes prosecutor, Carla del Ponte, who said she saw the government as a crucial partner in the pursuit of justice.

Relations between Rwanda and the tribunal broke down in November, after delays in the prosecution process led to a key genocide suspect being released on appeal.

The suspect, Jean-Bosco Barayagwiza, was director of political affairs in Kigali's foreign ministry at the time of the genocide, and an orchestrator of a hate radio campaign which incited the Hutu population to kill Tutsis.

In Rwanda, he is widely regarded as a key architect of the genocide, in which up to 800,000 people were systematically slaughtered between April and July 1994.

Mistakes acknowledged

After the tribunal ordered Mr Barayagwiza's release, Rwanda refused an entry visa to Ms del Ponte.

Survivors of the 1994 genocide demonstrated against the tribunal, accusing it of granting liberty to one of the main ideologues of the killings.

Ms del Ponte, who acknowledged serious mistakes in the prosecution process, subsequently said she would ask the tribunal to review the release order granted to Mr Barayagwiza.

The review is to be conducted at the tribunal's headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania, later this month.

In the past week, the tribunal has obtained extradition orders from the United Kingdom and from France for two further important genocide suspects - something which has helped to raise the tribunal's profile in Rwanda.

Mrs del Ponte says she is confident that the tribunal will soon be in a position to try Tharcisse Muvunyi, the former military commander who is currently in detention in the UK.