South African President Thabo Mbeki met Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe yesterday to try to help end the political crisis in Zimbabwe.
The main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party said its leader Morgan Tsvangirai had declined to meet Mr Mbeki, who has tried to mediate between the two sides after Mr Mugabe's disputed re-election on June 27th.
Speaking in Harare after a brief meeting with Mr Mugabe and Arthur Mutambara, who leads a breakaway faction of the MDC, Mr Mbeki said that negotiations had to move quickly.
"It is the view of the facilitators and the Zimbabwean leadership that we need to move with speed," Mbeki said. We agreed that MDC Tsvangirai has to be part of the negotiations, so we are hoping that the process will take place with them."
A spokesman for Mr Tsvangirai's MDC said the party was "mandated to negotiate under the resolutions of the Africa Union and the Southern Africa Development Community . . . on the basis that there is accountability (and) transparency".
"If we were meeting Mugabe as head of Zanu-PF no problem but not as head of state because we would have endorsed him but you know that his position is in dispute."
Mr Mbeki's trip follows a June 27 runoff presidential election, in which Mr Mugabe was the only candidate after Tsvangirai pulled out citing state sponsored violence.
Mr Tsvangirai and his MDC have criticised the South African leader's mediation efforts, accusing him of siding with Mr Mugabe and have asked the African Union (AU) to sent an envoy to help with the talks.
Mr Mugabe said on Friday the MDC must drop its claim to power and accept that he was the rightful head of state.