South African President Thabo Mbeki, who is mediating Zimbabwean power-sharing talks, said on Wednesday that negotiations had adjourned to allow the main opposition leader time to consider a deal.

He spoke in response to confusion over reports that President Robert Mugabe and breakaway opposition leader Arthur Mutambara had agreed on a deal to form a unity government.

Mbeki said he was not aware that Mutambara, leader of a splinter faction of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), had signed an accord with Mugabe.

After three days of talks, he said main opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has asked for "more time to reflect about this matter which the other two negotiators have agreed".

"But they need a bit of more time to reflect, so they will do that," he said at a news conference in the capital, Harare.

Details of the deal are not clear, but the key stumbling block in the talks has been how much power Mugabe is willing to cede to the opposition movement.

Mbeki said the Zimbabwean parties "have said negotiations must continue".

"I am quite certain that all of the parties are determined to find a solution," he said adding that the solution has to be "within the context of power-sharing negotiations".

Mbeki is expected in Angola before a regional summit that starts in South Africa at the weekend.

Any deal that would exclude Tsvangirai would likely prompt protests from the West -- and some African governments -- for allowing Mugabe (84) to cling to an increasingly autocratic 28-year reign that has driven his once-thriving nation to economic ruin.

Tsvangirai won the first round of presidential elections in March but boycotted the June 27 run-off to protest against widespread violence targeting opposition supporters.

Earlier, officials from the ruling party and the MDC said that Mugabe and Mutambara had reached an agreement. They spoke on condition of anonymity because Mbeki has insisted on confidentiality.

Mutambara himself would not comment late on Tuesday night, but he appeared confident as he left negotiations -- in contrast to Tsvangirai, who looked bleak.

Tsvangirai's faction has 100 seats in Parliament, and the ruling Zanu-PF 99. Mutambara's faction holds 10. He agreed to form a parliamentary alliance with Tsvangirai after the March elections, but if he now switches allegiances, it will give the majority to Mugabe's party. It is uncertain, however, whether all his lawmakers will follow him into the Zanu-PF fold.

Mugabe brushed off questions as he left the hotel, but he denied that the negotiations had failed. "Talks will never collapse as long as we have tongues," he said.

All three parties agreed to begin power-sharing talks on July 21 to end Zimbabwe's political and economic crisis.

Tsvangirai has said he could work with moderates from Mugabe's Zanu-PF, but not with Mugabe.

Zanu-PF and powerful police and army generals of the joint operational command insist Mugabe must remain president. His security and police chiefs reportedly were worried that he would make too many concessions and strip them of their privileges -- and potentially their protection from prosecution.

One of the contentious issues was whether Zanu-PF would retain control over the police and army in any power-sharing formula.

Mugabe and Zanu-PF have ruled Zimbabwe since the country gained independence in 1980. But his land-reform policies have laid waste to the country's once-thriving agricultural sector and he has resorted to repression to hold on to power.

Zimbabwe now has the world's highest rate of inflation, the majority of the population is unemployed and basic goods and food are hard to find. -- Sapa-AP

Mbeki leaves Zimbabwe after deal with breakaway faction

HARARE - South African President Thabo Mbeki on Wednesday flew out of Zimbabwe after striking an agreement with a breakaway opposition faction, an AFP reporter stated.

“Mbeki is going to give a report to SADC chair of defence and security, President Jose (Eduardo) dos Santos. After that we are going back home,” said Mbeki’s spokesman, Mukoni Ratshitanga.

Talks adjourned after Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe reached a deal with Arthur Mutambara, the leader of a smaller Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) grouping, that would lead to the formation of a government.

Main MDC opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai left the negotiations early on Tuesday amid suggestions that he was being cut out of a deal to end the country’s political crisis.

“The talks are adjourned not ended, but I wouldn’t say until when. Tsvangirai needs more time to consult on specific matter(s),” the spokesman added as Mbeki left for Luanda to meet the Angolan president.

He would not say whether the talks would resume before or after the weekend Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit which takes place in Johannesburg.

Mbeki, who is the SADC appointed mediator on the Zimbabwe crisis, will brief the summit on the progress of the talks. -Sapa-AFP

Tsvangirai says he's still committed to Zim talks

CRIS CHINAKA

Zimbabwe's main opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, said on Wednesday he was still committed to power-sharing negotiations after three days of talks with President Robert Mugabe broke off without a deal. In a statement, Tsvangirai said Zimbabwe's post-election government should be based on the March 29 first-round presidential election -- which he won, but not by a clear majority.

Negotiations followed Mugabe's unopposed re-election in June in a poll from which Tsvangirai withdrew because of attacks on his supporters. The ballot was condemned around the world.

Key to the negotiations is who gets which leadership positions and with which powers.

Mugabe and Tsvangirai met in Harare for three days in the latest round. It ended on Tuesday night without reaching agreement, dimming hopes of an end to a post-election crisis that has worsened Zimbabwe's economic decline.

"The Movement for Democratic Change [MDC] remains committed to participating in any meaningful and genuine dialogue that urgently moves this process forward," Tsvangirai said in the emailed statement.

"We are committed to a solution that recognises that the people spoke on the 29th of March 2008 -- a solution that ensures tangible deliverables are put on the table of Zimbabweans. A solution must thus put the people first, not leadership positions and titles."

South African President Thabo Mbeki, the chief mediator, said an agreement can still be reached soon despite the failure to get a deal at the marathon negotiations.

"We are indeed convinced that it is possible to conclude these negotiations quite quickly," Mbeki, the chief mediator in the negotiations, told reporters in the Angolan capital, Luanda.

Mbeki appealed for patience, saying the crucial issue of leadership positions was still under discussion.