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Zimbabwe: Gov’t, opposition kick off crisis talks in South Africa Wed. July 23, 2008 04:51 am.- By Bonny Apunyu. - (SomaliNet) In a power-sharing deal that could end Zimbabwe’s political crisis, Zimbabwe’s ruling party and the opposition MDC began negotiations on Tuesday in neighbouring South Africa, diplomatic sources said. On Monday, Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe and MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai signed a deal that committed the ruling ZANU-PF and two factions of the MDC to two weeks of negotiations with South African mediators. Negotiations began on Tuesday at an undisclosed venue in South Africa's capital, Pretoria, a diplomatic source close to the talks said. The source said neither Mugabe nor Tsvangirai would attend the opening round. Speaking on condition of anonymity, an MDC official said "There was convergence among all the parties that the dialogue had to start as soon as the MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) was done, hence the resumption of that process today." The Zimbabwean government and the opposition had been deadlocked over talks since Mugabe was re-elected unopposed on June 27 in a run-off poll boycotted by Tsvangirai because of violence against his supporters. Mugabe blames the opposition for the bloodshed. The main goal of the Pretoria talks will be the creation of a government of national unity, though the two sides differ on who should lead it and how long it should stay in power. But analysts said the two week deadline may be difficult to keep to. "Unfortunately, I am very sceptical. I think it is ambitious to expect a solution in two weeks. Yesterday's event is a good first step, but the two parties are so polarised it will take nothing short of a miracle to achieve that," said John Makumbe, political science lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe. Meanwhile, pressure on the two sides to share power came from the African Union and the Southern African Development Community, concerned by the political and economic crisis in Zimbabwe that has flooded neighbouring states with millions of refugees. The European Union on Tuesday increased pressure on Mugabe, saying it had agreed additional sanctions on Zimbabwe. An EU official said at a meeting of European Union foreign ministers in Brussels that 37 people and four companies would be added to the EU's Zimbabwe sanctions list.-Reuters News Category: Africa Latest Headlines Latest News Iraqi: Law maker killed in bomb attack ... Pakistan: Roadside bomb kills 11 in Pakistan US to revise North Korea's terrorism blacklist status... Belgium: 500 kilos of cocaine found in tuna shipment<... Nigeria: Senior official not guilty over $40 million... Ethiopia: 4.6 million Ethiopian now need emergency ... Africa: AU chairman urges world not to cut aid to Af... DR Congo: Gov’t asks UN council to meet on Rwandan i... South Africa: ANC likely to split says leading dissi... Libya cuts oil supplies to Switzerland ... More News...