We see our assistance as an important element to ensure there can be a durable peace here

Chris Patten, EU

The EU delegation touring the countries involved in the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo later met Rwanda's President Paul Kagame in Kigali.

Those talks centred on the disarmament of the interahamwe militia in DR Congo.

In Burundi, the head of the delegation, Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel, said he was willing to meet the leaders of the armed rebel groups who have so far refused to agree to a ceasefire despite the new transitional government in which power is shared between ethnic Hutus and Tutsis.

"We're trying to convince them that the future lies in peace," he said, declaring that Europe stood shoulder to shoulder with Burundi.

The European Union's priorities were, he added, to help Burundi eradicate poverty, rehabilitate its infrastructure and strengthen democracy.

Rwandan doubts

Rwanda has always justified its presence on DR Congo territory by saying it is fighting the interahamwe militia responsible for the 1994 genocide of ethnic Tutsis.

South African troops are keeping the peace in Burundi

Earlier in this trip, Mr Michel declared that the disarmament by the Kinshasa government of 1,800 Rwandan militiamen who had been fighting alongside Congolese government forces should be taken at face value.

This is a view not necessarily shared by the Rwandan authorities and Mr Michel has agreed to ask the DR Congo President Joseph Kabila that they be subjected to stringent checks.

Rwandan officials say they have evidence that Kinshasa is still supplying arms to interahamwe militia in the area around Kilembwe and South Kivu and across Lake Tanganyika as recently as last month.