Windhoek — Zimbabwe's ruling ZANU-PF party and two factions of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change begun formal talks on Thursday in South Africa in an effort to solve the country's political crisis.

The move comes two days after the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding to pave the way for the talks.

The negotiations were taking place at a secret location in Pretoria and were expected to take over two weeks.

The negotiations aimed to resolve the crisis caused by the controversial re-election of President Robert Mugabe following a campaign marred by widespread violence and intimidation against the opposition.

The MDC, which has won a majority in the country's parliament, boycotted the election run-off as a result of the violence.

The most important issue was the formation of a government of national unity, which, it was hoped, would end Zimbabwe's political and economic crisis. However, the two sides were set to clash on who would become prime minister.

South African President Thabo Mbeki, who is mediating the talks, was however on Thursday in France for a one-day SA-EU summit.