But her optimistic tone appeared sharply at odds with the realities on the ground in a crisis that has seen 620,000 Rohingya flee rape, murder and arson in Myanmar’s Rakhine state since late August, AFP reported.

Deadly attacks by Rohingya militants on August 25 sparked a massive backlash from Myanmar’s security forces that the UN says may amount to “ethnic cleansing”.

Diplomatic pressure has been growing on Myanmar, especially on its Nobel Peace Prize-winning leader Suu Kyi.

In response the country has said it is ready and willing to take back refugees, if they can “verify” they belong in Rakhine.

Mogherini, who visited refugee camps in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar over the weekend, emerged from Monday’s talks with Suu Kyi in a positive mood.

“I found it (the talks) extremely encouraging,” she told reporters in Myanmar’s capital Naypyidaw at a meeting of Asian and European foreign ministers.

“I am very much encouraged by the possibility – that I believe is real and concrete – of Myanmar and Bangladesh” reaching an agreement for the repatriation of refugees.

The two countries have yet to strike a binding deal on repatriation.

Rights groups say a speedy and safe repatriation of significant numbers of Rohingya is highly unlikely since large numbers are still fleeing violence, fear and hunger on a daily basis.

The status of the Muslim minority also remains highly emotive in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, where they are denied citizenship and labelled “Bengalis”, or illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

Rohingya villages have been razed and rice fields commandeered or left to ruin, raising major questions over what they can return to.

Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya, pushed out of Myanmar in several previous army-backed operations, have also yet to return despite decades-old repatriation deals with Bangladesh.

Those who have fled Rakhine in recent months have told horrific stories of rape, murder and arson by Myanmar troops and ethnic Rakhine Buddhists.

Myanmar’s military denies the allegations.

Washington’s top diplomat Rex Tillerson last week cited “credible” reports of atrocities since late August.

Myanmar’s diplomatic isolation over its treatment of the Rohingya has been eased by China, which has helped shield it from censure at the UN Security Council.

China was one of the few foreign friends of the country’s former junta.

Beijing covets access to Myanmar’s western coast for ports and pipelines including in Rakhine state, where Chinese businesses are spending billions of dollars.

On Sunday Foreign Minister Wang Yi met Suu Kyi and reaffirmed support for Myanmar over the Rakhine issue, according to the state-backed Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper.

He added that “poverty alleviation” was the crux of the problem and urged Myanmar and Bangladesh to solve the crisis through “dialogue”.

In her first address to the nation since attacks by Rohingya Muslim insurgents on Aug. 25 sparked a military response that has forced more than 410,000 Rohingya into Bangladesh, Suu Kyi said Myanmar did not fear international scrutiny and was committed to a sustainable solution to the conflict, Reuters reported.

The United Nations has branded the military operation in the western state ethnic cleansing. Suu Kyi did not address that accusation but said her government condemned rights violations and anyone responsible for abuses would face the law.

“We condemn all human rights violations and unlawful violence. We are committed to the restoration of peace and stability and rule of law throughout the state,” Suu Kyi said in her address in the capital, Naypyitaw.

Long feted in the West for her role as champion of Myanmar’s democratic opposition in the Buddhist-majority country during years of military rule and house arrest, Suu Kyi has faced growing criticism for saying little about the abuses faced by the Rohingya.

“Human rights violations and all other acts that impair stability and harmony and undermine the rule of law will be addressed in accordance with strict laws and justice,” she said.

“We feel deeply for the suffering of all the people caught up in the conflict.”

The United States urged the Myanmar government on Monday to end military operations in Rakhine state, grant humanitarian access, and commit to aiding the safe return of civilians to their homes.

Myanmar’s powerful military remains in full charge of security and Suu Kyi did not comment on the military operations except to say that since Sept. 5, there had been “no armed clashes and there have been no clearance operations”.

“Nevertheless, we are concerned to hear that numbers of Muslims are fleeing across the border to Bangladesh,” she said.

“We want to find out why this exodus is happening. We would like to talk to those who have fled as well as those who have stayed. I think it is very little known a great majority of Muslims in the Rakhine state have not joined the exodus.”

She said her government had been making every effort to restore peace and stability and to promote harmony between the Muslim and largely Buddhist Rakhine communities.

Suu Kyi, 72, is banned from the presidency by the military-drafted constitution because her children have British citizenship. She holds offices of the state counselor and minister for foreign affairs, and is the de facto leader of the administration.

In her address, Suu Kyi did not use the term “Rohingya” to refer to the Muslim minority in Rakhine State.

Members of the 1.1 million group, who identify themselves by the term Rohingya, are seen by many Myanmar Buddhists as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. The term is a divisive issue.

Most Rohingya do not have Myanmar citizenship.