A European commissioner said Sunday that Burma's new government has vowed to pursue peaceful solutions to its decades-old conflicts with ethnic minority groups.

Speaking in Bangkok Sunday, Kristalina Georgieva, the European Union commissioner for humanitarian aid, told reporters that Burma's minister of border control strongly believes there must be peace, and that it can be achieved only by fair treatment of ethnic minorities and by providing development opportunities for them.

Georgieva was in Burma Friday and Saturday. She met with Border Affairs Minister Thein Htay and other ministers of the government that took office on April 1.

The new government's policy towards ethnic minorities has not yet been made clear.