Zimbabwe MDC says UN, AU mediation needed in talks

Harare: Zimbabwe's opposition MDC said on Friday the United Nations and African Union should step in to mediate between the country's rivals if talks aimed at rescuing a power-sharing deal remain deadlocked over cabinet posts.

"The UN and AU are the guarantors of the power-sharing agreement. If ZANU-PF continues to be intransigent, then those institutions should step in," MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa said.

President Robert Mugabe, MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara of a splinter MDC faction have failed to reach a deal on forming a cabinet in three days of talks and were due to start another round of negotiations on Friday.

Supporters of Mugabe earlier accused the MDC of "bad faith" and of stalling to try to bring about UN mediation, while the MDC blamed the delay on ZANU-PF's "inflexibility".

The power-sharing deal, brokered by former South African President Thabo Mbeki a month ago, is seen as Zimbabwe's best hope for rescuing an economy where fuel, food and foreign exchange are scarce, and inflation stands at 231 million percent.

Tsvangirai threatened to pull out on Sunday after Mugabe allocated powerful ministries such as defence, finance and home affairs - which controls the police - to his ZANU-PF party.

Chamisa said the MDC was ready to compromise, but "not to the point of betrayal", and would not settle for being the junior partner in a Mugabe-led government.

"Once they start to show they are willing to show sensitivity to the suffering of the people, I have no doubt we will be able to pull through," he said.