Harare/Johannesburg - After three days of talks on a power- sharing government between Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai that ended in deadlock, mediating South African President Thabo Mbeki left Zimbabwe Wednesday.

As Mbeki left for Angola to report back on the talks to Angolan President Eduardo dos Santos, conflicting reports over whether Mugabe had gone over Tsvangirai's head and signed a deal with a breakaway faction of Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) continued to swirl.

Harare  - South African President Thabo Mbeki touched down in the Zimbabwean capital Harare Saturday evening for talks with the leaders of the country's political parties about their progress in negotiations on a unity government.

Mbeki was met at Harare international airport by Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and a number of government ministers.

Mbeki, the Southern African Development Community's mediator in Zimbabwe's political crisis, is scheduled to hold talks with Mugabe, Movement for Democratic Change

Harare - South African President Thabo Mbeki was due to meet Wednesday with his Zimbabwean counterpart Robert Mugabe and the leader of a breakaway faction of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change after meeting Tuesday with MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai in a bid to restart stalled talks.

Mbeki's spokesman Mukoni Ratshitanga confirmed that Mbeki would be travelling later to Harare to meet with Mugabe and MDC faction leader, Arthur Mutambara.

Asked why he would not be meeting with Tsvangirai, Ratshitanga told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa: "He met yesterday with Morgan Tsvangirai and his negotiators in Pretoria."

Johannesburg  - South African President Thabo Mbeki on Tuesday described as unhelpful the request by a prosecutor in the International Criminal Court to have Sudanese President Omar al- Bashir indicted for genocide and war crimes.

Referring to the implementation of the North-South Comprehensive Peace Agreement and efforts to resolve tensions in Sudan's troubled Darfur region, Mbeki said "It does not help to be now considering these indictments" because both issues "would require very serious inputs by President al-Bashir."

Johannesburg  - South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki was due to travel to France later Thursday for the first South Africa- European Union summit, which was expected to be dominated by the situation in Zimbabwe and the status of international trade talks.

Mbeki is to be accompanied to the summit in Bordeaux by his foreign, trade, science and environment ministers. The EU delegation will be led European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, foreign policy chief Javier Solana and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose country holds the EU's six-month rotating presidency.

Johannesburg - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has told African Union leaders he is open to talks with the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) on a unity government, according to South African President Thabo Mbeki. 

Mbeki, whom the AU has endorsed to continue as mediator in Zimbabwe, was speaking after an AU heads of state summit in Egypt Tuesday ended with a call for a government of national unity in Zimbabwe. 

Despite Mugabe's spokesman George Charamba on Tuesday ruling out a Kenya-style unity government Mbeki said, "No, there was no objection."