U.S. urges Kenyans to talk as envoy extends stay

By Sue Pleming

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Tuesday pressed Kenya's opposition and government to hold talks to end a political crisis as the top U.S. diplomat for Africa extended a visit to the East African nation to help reconcile the two.

"We think that it is of primary importance that they open up those channels of communication," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said.

"They need to agree upon something that they can both live with that ends the political crisis and therefore ends the possibility of any further political violence," he added.

But Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga on Tuesday rejected a government offer of bilateral talks to end a crisis that has killed at least 500 people and displaced some 255,000, saying that without international mediation such a meeting would be a sideshow.

Shunning international pressure, Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and Odinga have still not met since violence erupted after Kibaki's disputed re-election last month.

Kibaki, who sees the crisis as a domestic issue, has been reluctant to accept international mediation despite the constant prodding of the United States and others.

On Tuesday, protests erupted after Kibaki named several members of a new cabinet, a political gesture that McCormack said was disappointing.

"There's been really just a sad amount of loss of life here -- needless loss of life. And these two leaders need to come together to find a way to bridge the differences," he said.