Crossword Genius

Old Germanic character in outer parts of Burundi, small country (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

brunei

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'country' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'old germanic character in outer parts of burundi small' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'character' could be 'rune' (rune is a kind of character) and 'rune' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'bi' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for brunei that I've seen before include "Muslim state" , "Sultanate on the island of Borneo" , "Rich sultanate in the South China Sea" , "Far Eastern sultanate" , "Commonwealth member" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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