1 Cease-fire talks on the border conflict between Peru and Ecuador broke up Sunday without agreement.
2 The mediators in the conflict -- representatives of Argentina, Brazil, Chile and the United States -- were heading back to their capitals to continue working on a cease-fire from there, negotiators said as the talks disbanded.
3 'I prefer not to think of the talks as a failure but rather as a preparation for more complete understanding and what we all hope will be a cease-fire and a permanent peace,' said Sebastiao de Rego Barros, Brazil's acting foreign minister and chairman of the talks.
4 In a two-page statement issued at a final news conference, the mediators said the talks were ending because it was taking too long for Ecuador and Peru to consult their capitals.
5 The mediators had drawn up a plan that included an observer mission, the separation of forces and the creation of a demilitarized zone. Both Peru and Ecuador had accepted the observer mission, the statement said.
6 The Folha de Sao Paolo newspaper reported that talks could shift to the Organization of American States in Washington or possibly the United Nations in New York, but delegates would not comment on that.
7 At least 20 people have been killed in fighting that erupted Jan. 26 over an unmarked 50-mile (80-kms) portion of the Peru-Ecuador border. The conflict over the area, which may contain gold, uranium and oil, stems from a 1941 war that Ecuador lost. Each side claims the other started the latest flareup.
8 Peru contends the entire 1,000-mile (1,600-km) border was established in a 1942 agreement. Ecuador declared the agreement null in 1960, before the border was fully marked. Skirmishes also occurred in the area in 1981.

The mediators had drawn up a plan that included an observer mission , the separation of forces and the creation of a demilitarized zone . Both Peru and Ecuador had accepted the observer mission , the statement said .
demilitarized zone
How would a demilitarized zone be managed?