Zimbabwe: Talks to Resume Soon, Says Mbeki

29 July 2008
allAfrica.com

Zimbabwe's power-sharing talks have adjourned while negotiators consult with their party leaders, but will resume by the end of the week, South Africa’s President Thabo Mbeki said in Pretoria on Tuesday.

He was speaking in the wake of reports saying the talks had deadlocked.

Addressing a news conference with President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, Mbeki said the Zimbabwean negotiators – who are meeting at a secret venue in South Africa – “want to go back to Harare to… consult with their principals.”

A transcript of Mbeki’s remarks was released by South Africa’s foreign ministry. Mubarak was in South Africa on a state visit.

A media blackout has been imposed on the talks, but party sources have suggested to journalists that President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party has offered the Movement for Democratic Change’s leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, the post of third vice-president, alongside the existing Zanu-PF vice-presidents, Joyce Mujuru and Joseph Msika. The MDC reportedly wants Tsvangirai to assume the post of prime minister with considerable executive power.

Tagged:
Copyright © 2008 allAfrica.com. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.

AllAfrica publishes around 500 reports a day from more than 100 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.