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The talks, a follow-up to a first round of negotiations in Paris last month, opened after an upsurge of violence in northern Rwanda, with the government accusing the RPF of attacking a refugee camp. The rebels denied the charge.
Bizimungu said the government should take steps to resolve tribal conflicts and achieve "national unity" and "true democracy." Diplomats attending the talks as observers said the demands apparently indicated that the RPF was not satisfied with the government's moves to establish pluralism.
But Rwandan Foreign Minister Boniface Ngulinzira said his government had proposed a meeting with refugees to work out ways to help them resettle in Rwanda.
Saying Rwanda had embarked on democratisation, Ngulinzira, heading the government delegation, urged the RPF to lay down its arms and join the political process.
"The Rwandan Patriotic Front's stance of solving the problems militarily is not of benefit to the Rwandese people," he told the meeting.
In a sign of mounting international concern about the conflict, officials from the United States, France, Belgium, Uganda, Zaire, Senegal and the Organisation of African Unity are attending tha talks as observers.
The talks are aimed at securing a ceasefire that could pave the way for further negotiations to achieve a lasting peace.
hb/dce/hn AFP AFP SEQN-0217
