Chances for settlement remote

from Reuters SA



"Our assessment is that they are simply trying to put spanners in the works, and they are not serious about reaching a workable power-sharing arrangement," the ZANU-PF official told Reuters.

"If that is their approach, and we believe it is, there are just no prospects for any agreement. Instead of a power-sharing arrangement they are looking at deposing ZANU-PF and transferring power to the MDC through these talks."

The sides were due to meet again on Tuesday for talks mediated by South African President Thabo Mbeki.

Two months of meetings in South Africa and Harare have so far failed to ease divisions over how to share executive powers and Mugabe has threatened to form a cabinet without Tsvangirai.

ELECTION CHALLENGE

Tsvangirai said on Sunday he would rather quit talks than sign a bad deal and challenged Mugabe to hold a new election.