Mbeki pushes for Zimbabwean settlement

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, July 11 (UPI) -- Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai have dropped rigid negotiating positions, the Zimbabwean Independent reports.

The newspaper said South African President Thabo Mbeki put pressure on Mugabe and Tsvangirai.

Talks got under way in South Africa this week between representatives of Mugabe's Zanu-PF Party and Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change. But the talks appeared likely to go nowhere, with Mugabe demanding recognition as president based on the June runoff election and Tsvangirai calling for recognition that he outpolled Mugabe March 29.

Sources said Mbeki convinced Mugabe not to appoint a new cabinet immediately, The Independent said. Top leaders of the African National Congress put pressure on Mugabe in a visit to Harare this week.

Mbeki instead has tried to convince Mugabe and Tsvangirai they must try to work out a political settlement so they can stabilize Zimbabwe's economy.

The country has been in free fall with inflation so high it has become impossible to measure.