PRETORIA (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's ruling party and opposition factions are continuing with negotiations to resolve the country's political crisis, South African President Thabo Mbeki said on Sunday.
"Those negotiations among the Zimbabweans are continuing,"Mbeki said in a briefing in Pretoria. The South African leaderis overseeing the talks between President Robert Mugabe'sZANU-PF and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change.
Mugabe's officials and the opposition began formalnegotiations last week in South Africa in an effort to pave theway for a power-sharing deal that will break the impasse overMugabe's disputed June 27 re-election.
MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai boycotted the poll, blamingviolence that he said had killed 120 of his supporters. Westernnations also condemned the poll as violent and not free.
Mbeki and other African leaders have pressed Mugabe andTsvangirai to negotiate a national unity government, which isseen by the continent as the only way to avert further violenceand reverse an economic slide in Zimbabwe.
But there is sharp disagreement between ZANU-PF and the MDCover who should lead such a government and how long it shouldstay in power.
(Reporting by Paul Simao; Editing by Giles Elgood)
