France, Aug. 7 -- "We are still in discussions," Rwandan government spokesperson Yolande Makolo told on radio station Royal FM on Thursday, stressing that no deal had yet been reached.

She said one idea being considered was the expansion of an emergency programme to host migrants evacuated from Libya in a transit centre in the south of Rwanda.

Developed with the African Union and the UN refugee agency in 2019, the programme sees asylum seekers provided with medical care and other support while their case is processed, before either returning to their home countries or resettling elsewhere.

The announcement came two days after Italy called on the EU to set up "return hubs" in countries outside the bloc to host foreign nationals who arri...