"We encourage our friends to support us and not make any
mistake of putting a gun to anybody's head and saying
'either/or', because that cannot work," Moses Wetangula said.

"Even if we get visitors to help us in any way possible, the
answer to the problem in Kenya lies with Kenyans themselves."

His comments appeared to be a pointed reference to Bush's
statement of support for a power-sharing arrangement to end the turmoil that has affected one of the West's allies in its fight against al Qaeda and ruined Kenya's reputation for stability.

Bush went on to stress that the United States wanted to help talks, not dictate a solution, after arriving in Tanzania on the second leg of a five-nation tour to Africa.

A White House spokeswoman reinforced that line, saying Rice
did not expect to come away with a final deal, nor would she be offering incentives to encourage the feuding sides to strike a pact.

"But I do think ... they are inching their ways closer and
they need a little bit of help to get there," she said.

Rice is expected to meet Annan, President Mwai Kibaki and
his opposition rival, Raila Odinga, on Monday.

From the outset, Kibaki's government has been wary of what
it views as foreign meddling in the affairs of a country that
gained independence from Britain in 1963. Odinga says Kibaki
stole the election.

Although Annan reported considerable progress in last week's
talks - including agreement for an independent review of the
disputed poll - most Kenyans are waiting for a breakthrough on the contentious "grand coalition" idea advocated by Annan.

Government officials have said the only power-sharing being
considered is giving opposition members ministries in Kibaki's
half-filled cabinet.

The proposal is unlikely to satisfy the opposition. The two
sides are due to resume talks on Tuesday.

Reuters