The Ethiopian government on Friday said its peace talks with the Ogaden National liberation Front (ONLF) rebel group had collapsed.
The two sides started negotiations in September and further talks had been scheduled to be held in Kenya on Tuesday and Wednesday.
But government representatives at the talks said the ONLF had refused to recognise the Horn of Africa country's constitution, after they demanded the rebels to adhere to Ethiopian rules.
The government delegation was led by Defense minister Seraj Fegesa and Kenyan Defense minister Mohamed Yusuf Haji who was the mediator.
ONLF said during the initial round of talks both sides agreed that there would be no preconditions to create goodwill.
ONLF, which says it is fighting for the independence of the Ogaden region of Ethiopia, is active in the eastern part of the country, an area that borders Somalia.
"We have been battling the Ethiopians since '84 and the Ethiopian constitution was adopted in 1994," the group said.
"So we should not be forced to recognise their constitution."
Ethiopia launched a military offensive against ONLF a few years ago after the front killed 64 Ethiopian and nine Chinese oil workers in the Ogaden region.
In October 2010 a faction of the ONLF signed a peace deal with the government.
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