South Africa's Mbeki meets Zimbabwe's Mugabe

By MacDonald Dzirutwe

HARARE (Reuters) - South African President Thabo Mbeki met Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe on Saturday to try to help end a political crisis, his spokesman said.

The main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party said its leader Morgan Tsvangirai had declined to meet Mbeki, who has tried to mediate between the two sides after Mugabe's disputed re-election on June 27.

Mbeki's spokesman Mukoni Ratshitanga said: "Yes, the president earlier on Saturday met President Mugabe and Arthur Mutambara in the context of the mediation process." Mutambara leads a breakaway faction of the MDC.

Spokesman for the main MDC, Nelson Chamisa, said the MDC 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".

"Unfortunately the planned meeting today did not comply with the framework we would have envisaged, a fruitful and beneficial dialogue. That is why we decided not to engage in that meeting with President Mbeki," he said.

"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."

Mbeki's trip follows a June 27 runoff presidential election, in which Mugabe was the only candidate after Tsvangirai pulled out citing state sponsored violence.

Tsvangirai and his MDC have criticised Mbeki's mediation efforts, accusing him of siding with Mugabe. Mugabe says he supports Mbeki's mediation role.