Zimbabwe talks break up, Mugabe says no deal yet

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe said that talks with opposition leaders on a power-sharing deal had ended inconclusively, but that they would resume on Monday.

Asked by reporters late on Sunday after emerging from a marathon session of over 14 hours of negotiations if there had been progress, Mugabe said: "Not yet. We are not through but we will continue tomorrow."

Mugabe appeared to be in a jovial mood when he left the talks in a Harare hotel.

The talks, mediated by South African President Thabo Mbeki, started before noon on Sunday with Mugabe meeting Movement for Democratic Change opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai and MDC breakaway faction leader Arthur Mutambara.

Tsvangirai declined to comment when he emerged, saying he expected Mbeki to release a statement on the negotiations.

The discussions were seen as the clearest sign yet that an agreement, which could increase the chances of recovery from economic catastrophe, was within reach.

Talks began last month in the aftermath of Mugabe's unopposed re-election in June in a poll condemned throughout the world and boycotted by Tsvangirai because of attacks on his supporters.

Mutambara said in a newspaper article earlier that a compromise was close. He said that, despite limitations, it offered the "best temporary measure to extricate the country from its worst situation."

UNDER PRESSURE

A deal could mean Mugabe has survived elections that posed the biggest challenge to his rule, but might also remove some of the power that has allowed him to govern with an iron hand.

Both sides are under pressure to reach a deal.

Zimbabweans and neighboring countries hope an agreement could end years of political turmoil and revive an economy whose collapse has led millions of people to leave Zimbabwe.