Congo state TV reports that the presidents of Congo and Rwanda have agreed in principle to back a neutral international armed force to combat Congo's newest rebellion and other foreign rebels and local militias terrorizing eastern Congo.

It said that Joseph Kabila of Congo and Paul Kagame of Rwanda had a 1 ½-hour tete-a-tete Sunday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on the sidelines of an African Union summit. It was the men's first meeting since accusations backed by a UN report that Rwanda helped create and arm the new M23 rebels. Rwanda denies the allegations.

Congo has the world's largest peacekeeping force, but their mandate is restricted to supporting Congo's army in its peace efforts. Soldiers have put up little resistance to the rebels.

The agreement was hammered out at a foreign ministers meeting Thursday of the 11-nation Great Lakes region.