Mugabe and Tsvangirai sign deal for talks

President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai have signed a deal outlining a framework for talks on Zimbabwe's political crisis.

The pair - who were filmed shaking hands at their meeting in the capital Harare - have been locked in a dispute over this year's presidential polls.

It was their first meeting in a decade. Mr Tsvangirai described the pact as a "first tentative step".

South African President Thabo Mbeki witnessed the signing of the deal.

The deal comes on the day that a new banknote is issued, for 100bn Zimbabwe dollars - the latest sign of the country's economic meltdown.

This is not quite enough to buy a loaf of bread and is worth less than US$1. The official inflation rate is 2.2m%.

The political agreement had been due to be signed last week but Mr Tsvangirai pulled out.

Mr Tsvangirai, leader of the Opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), garnered more votes in the initial presidential poll - but election officials said there was no outright winner and called for a run-off.

Mr Mugabe won the run-off - but he was the only candidate after Mr Tsvangirai withdrew, accusing the government of mounting a campaign of violence against his supporters.

First step

Mr Tsvangirai said that in signing the deal - an occasion he described as historic - he and Mr Mugabe were committing themselves to the "first tentative step towards searching for a solution to a county that is in crisis".

He went on: "We are committed to ensure that the process of negotiation becomes successful.

"We want to make sure that every Zimbabwean feels safe, we want to share a common prosperity for everyone and we want a better Zimbabwe."

Mr Tsvangirai acknowledged that many "bitter words" had been exchanged between the two sides but said they all needed to work together if they wanted progress for Zimbabwe.

Mr Mugabe said the two sides had agreed on Sunday on the need for the country's constitution to be amended.

He said they had met "in order to chart a new way" of political interaction and praised Mr Mbeki for his mediation efforts.

The BBC's Jonah Fisher, in Johannesburg, says the document envisages a final deal being signed within two weeks.

But, he says, it is difficult to see such quick progress in resolving the issues at stake - and the document does not answer the central issue of Mr Mugabe's future.

The five-page agreement does not go into the details of a possible power-sharing arrangement, which some see as the only way out of Zimbabwe's political and economic crisis, our correspondent notes - it is merely the starting point for substantive talks.

Mr Mugabe insists that he must be recognised as Zimbabwe's president - a position rejected by the MDC, which accuses him of using violence to ensure that he won the run-off.

The MDC wants some kind of "transitional authority" to organise new, internationally-monitored elections.

New elections

The fact that the African Union (AU) and the United Nations joined the South African mediation efforts was crucial in persuading the MDC to agree to talk, our correspondent says.

The MDC accuses the South African president of being biased in favour of Mr Mugabe, and Mr Tsvangirai had asked for another envoy to replace him.

On Friday, it was announced that a group of senior diplomats, drawn from the UN, AU and the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) would help Mr Mbeki.

One of those was the UN's envoy to Zimbabwe, Haile Menkerios, who said he believed the two men had agreed a draft memorandum of understanding setting out the terms under which they could enter direct negotiations.

He said signing the document would "clear the way" for talks.

The MDC still has several conditions to be met before starting substantive talks with Mr Mugabe.

Party spokesman George Sibotshiwe told the BBC that future talks would remain conditional on a complete cessation of violence and the release of all political prisoners.

"We want a government that creates a platform for us to democratise our society, in order for us to have a genuinely free and fair election," he said.

The MDC says at least 120 of its supporters have been killed, about 5,000 abducted and 200,000 forced from their homes since the first round of the elections, in a campaign of violence by pro-Mugabe militias and the army.

Cabinet ministers and military officials have denied the charges.

BBC Online