Cape Town — South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki, under fire for the handling of the Zimbabwean crisis, has won African Union and United Nations backing for his plans to facilitate a solution - but will liaise with a tri-partite "reference group" over his efforts.

Mbeki's office announced Friday that after meetings with top AU, UN and Southern African Development Community representatives, "all parties agreed with the framework" which he had proposed. They had also endorsed his role as SADC's mediator and "pledged to support his efforts."

However, the statement added that the AU, UN and SADC would - at Mbeki's suggestion - form a reference group with which he "will liaise on an ongoing basis."

Zimbabwe's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), which secured the highest number of votes of any party in elections in March, has repeatedly challenged Mbeki's impartiality in efforts to end the crisis precipitated by the government's failure to organise a free and fair presidential run-off vote in June.

The agreement announced Friday appears to strike a compromise which confirms Mbeki's leading role in regional diplomatic efforts but which would subject his mediation to wider scrutiny. The MDC and its supporters have been calling for the appointment of an AU mediator.

Mbeki held talks on Friday with the chair of the African Union Commission, Jean Ping, the UN Secretary-General's special representative on Zimbabwe, Haile Menkerios, and a representative of the SADC "Organ on Defence Politics and Security," George Chikoti.