LONDON, Sept 19 (AFP) - The Eritrean foreign ministry said Friday that the intervention of the US authorities in its border conflict with Ethiopia had negative effects, Eritrean radio, monitored by the BBC, reported.

It quoted a ministry press release as saying that the US intervention had "complicated matters and delayed the search for a resolution of the issue".

"The ministry said the intervention has adversely affected and restricted the initiatives taken by the Organisation of African Unity through its secretary-general," the radio said.

In a telephone conversation with President Isaias Afeworki on Wednesday US national security adviser Sandy Berger said Washington planned to send Berger's predecessor Anthony Lake to Asmara and Addis Ababa in a bid to start a fresh initiative, the radio added.

"The ministry said that President Isaias had made clear the reservations of the Eritrean government but said he had no objections to meeting the envoy," the report said.

On Friday the Italian foreign ministry said that visiting US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Susan Rice and her Italian counterpart Rino Serri had urged Ethiopia and Eritrea not to resume hostilities and instead cooperate with OAU mediation.

The conflict has remained unresolved since Eritrea and Ethiopia went to war over their ill-defined border in early May, though no fighting has been reported since late June.

NAIROBI, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Eritrea has expressed reservations about a planned visit by a former U.S. national security adviser to seek a resolution to a violent dispute with its Horn of Africa neighbour Ethiopia.

Eritrea said in a statement faxed to Reuters on Saturday it was ready to meet the envoy, Anthony Lake, despite what it said was unhelpful previous interference by the U.S. over the dispute.

Eritrean President Isayas Afewerki ``has underlined the reservations of the Eritrean government while expressing its readiness to receive the U.S. envoy,'' the statement said.

``As it may be recalled, the prospects of an early and peaceful solution to the border conflict... was curtailed due to the interference of the U.S. team that was entrusted with the task of facilitating communication between the two parties.

``Continued and unwarranted interference of these officials, through the Secretary General of the OAU (Organisation of African Unity), has further contributed to negatively influence the OAU initiative underway and to limit its positive contribution,'' the statement said.

The statement followed a telephone conversation on September 16 between Afewerki and National Security Adviser Sandy Berger on the U.S. desire to launch a new initiative.

It was not clear when Lake would visit the Eritrean capital Asmara as part of a planned trip to both sides.

The U.S. has been instrumental in trying to resolve the border dispute almost since it first flared into violence on May 6.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Africa Susan Rice visited both countries in an attempt to find common ground and President Bill Clinton secured a moratorium on air strikes in mid-June after speaking personally by telephone both to Afewerki and to Ethiopian leader Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.

But Eritrea complained that Rice's initiative, backed up by shuttle diplomacy by U.S. government experts, attempted to broker a deal too quickly without prior understanding of the issues.

Eritrea rejected a four point plan by the U.S. and Rwanda under which it would have had to withdraw to territory it held before May 6.

The plan, accepted by Ethiopia, formed the basis first of an OAU initiative and figured implicitly in a resolution by the U.N. Security Council.

Eritrea has proposed face-to-face talks between the two leaders as well as international monitoring of the border while the question of original ownership was established.

The border dispute, which flared unexpectedly into violence, centres on a triangle of land around Badme and Sheraro on the northwestern end of the border between Ethiopia and Eritrea.

There have been no reports of significant fighting since mid-June but both sides have deployed their significant military might along the 1,000-km (600-mile) frontier amid concern that the conflict could be resolved through force if no diplomatic solution is found.