By MacDonald Dzirutwe
HARARE (Reuters) - South African President Thabo Mbeki metZimbabwean President Robert Mugabe on Saturday to try to helpend a political crisis, his spokesman said.
The main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)party said its leader Morgan Tsvangirai had declined to meetMbeki, who has tried to mediate between the two sides afterMugabe's disputed re-election on June 27.
Mbeki's spokesman Mukoni Ratshitanga said: "Yes, thepresident earlier on Saturday met President Mugabe and ArthurMutambara in the context of the mediation process." Mutambaraleads a breakaway faction of the MDC.
Spokesman for the main MDC, Nelson Chamisa, said the MDCwas "mandated to negotiate under the resolutions of the AfricaUnion and the Southern Africa Development Community ... on thebasis that there is accountability (and) transparency".
"Unfortunately the planned meeting today did not complywith the framework we would have envisaged, a fruitful andbeneficial dialogue. That is why we decided not to engage inthat meeting with President Mbeki," he said.
"If we were meeting Mugabe as head of ZANU-PF no problembut not as head of state because we would have endorsed him butyou know that his position is in dispute."
Mbeki's trip follows a June 27 runoff presidentialelection, in which Mugabe was the only candidate afterTsvangirai pulled out citing state sponsored violence.
Tsvangirai and his MDC have criticised Mbeki's mediationefforts, accusing him of siding with Mugabe. Mugabe says hesupports Mbeki's mediation role.
Mugabe said on Friday the MDC must drop its claim to powerand accept that he was the rightful head of state.
Mutambara, who heads a splinter group of the MDC, joinedthe meeting with Mugabe and Mbeki, secretary general of the MDCfaction, Welshman Ncube told Reuters.
"Yes we met President Mugabe, that is the principals of thethree parties represented in parliament but Tsvangirai did notturn up," Ncube said.
"Basically it was for the principals to mandate their ...negotiators to go and seek a political settlement to theimpasse. There were no discussions, we have to go back to thedrawing board."
(Editing by Phumza Macanda)