Zimbabwe talks going 'very well,' Mbeki says

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (CNN) -- Power-sharing talks between Zimbabwe's president and main opposition candidate are continuing and going "very well," South African President Thabo Mbeki said Tuesday after reports that the two sides had deadlocked.

"The negotiators are negotiating," Mbeki told reporters at a news conference in Pretoria, South Africa. "They are continuing to meet."

The spokesman for opposition candidate Morgan Tsvangirai reiterated Tuesday what a source close to the negotiations had said Monday -- that the talks to resolve an impasse over a disputed election had reached a deadlock.

The source said negotiators for Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe had offered Tsvangirai a vice presidency position, which caused the power-sharing talks to stall because Tsvangirai wanted a larger role.

The talks began in earnest on Thursday at an undisclosed location in Pretoria under South African mediation.

Mbeki indicated any break in the talks is purely temporary. He said the two sides are "doing very well" and are determined to reach an agreement.

"They have not concluded," Mbeki said of the talks. "They will be adjourning shortly for a few days because they want to go back to Harare (the Zimbabwean capital) to go and consult with their principals about the work that is being done, and then come back by the end of the week to resume the negotiations."

Mugabe's offer, the source said Monday, would allow him to remain in power along with the two existing vice presidents. Tsvangirai would be given the position of third vice president, the source said.

According to the source, Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change will not accept a junior partnership in a future Zimbabwe government.

Negotiators for the MDC will recommence talks with Mugabe's ZANU-PF on Saturday, the source said.

MDC officials have publicly stated that they will not accept a Mugabe-led government because Tsvangirai won the most votes in the March 29 presidential election. Tsvangirai, however, failed to win enough votes to avoid a runoff with Mugabe, leading to the second round of voting June 27.

Mugabe won the runoff after Tsvangirai withdrew from the vote, saying Mugabe's supporters had orchestrated a campaign of beatings, intimidation and murders against Tsvangirai supporters.

Last week, Mugabe and Tsvangirai signed a memorandum of understanding that paved the way for the power-sharing talks under the mediation of Mbeki, as a representative of the Southern African Development Community, and Jean Ping of Gabon, chairman of the African Union Commission.

The memorandum called for talks to take place over the next two weeks, and Mbeki said the sides are trying to stick to that timeframe.

CNN's Nkepile Mabuse, Kim Norgaard and Melissa Gray contributed to this report.

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