ADDIS ABABA, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Ethiopia said on Tuesday that former U.S. National Security Adviser Anthony Lake would visit the country on Thursday in an effort to mediate in the border dispute between Ethiopia and Eritrea.

Lake will visit first the Eritrean capital Asmara, Ethiopian government spokeswoman Selome Taddesse said.

A statement from Taddesse said Ethiopia was still committed to the peace initiative by the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) ``as the only one that could guarantee a peaceful solution to the crisis,'' but welcomed ``any effort made by other parties to bolster this initiative.''

Analysts in Addis Ababa said the statement indicated that Ethiopia would not accept any fresh peace proposals put forward by Lake.

Hundreds were killed in ground and air fighting between the two Horn of Africa neighbours after a long-running squabble over contested border territories turned violent in early May.

Fighting subsided in mid-June, but both sides have used the lull to build heavy reinforcements of troops and artillery along the border.

Ethiopia supports a peace initiative first put forward by the United States and Rwanda, and later endorsed by the OAU and the United Nations, which calls on Eritrea to withdraw to positions held before May 6 when the conflict erupted.

Eritrea rejects the plan, and has called for an international monitoring force to be deployed in disputed areas before troops withdraw.

Eritrean President Isayas Afewerki has called for face-to-face talks with Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, which Meles has rejected.

Lake is scheduled to hold talks with Meles and Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin on his one-day visit to Addis Ababa.

The OAU is finalising a report on the dispute which should form the basis for its next mediation effort which is scheduled to take place next week in the capital of Burkina Faso, Ouagadougou. An exact date has not yet been set.

The meeting will be attended by the leaders of the three African countries involved in the peace initiative -- Zimbabwe, Djibouti and Burkina Faso -- and OAU Secretary-General Salim Ahmed Salim, OAU sources said.

It is not yet clear whether Meles and Isayas will attend the meeting, the sources added.