Mbeki Denies Zimbabwe Talks Are Failing

The South African president, Thabo Mbeki, chided critics of his handling of the political upheaval in Zimbabwe yesterday, saying his efforts to mediate between the government and opposition are on track and will deliver a resolution to the crisis.

A cabinet meeting yesterday rejected reports that the talks are failing after Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu-PF failed to attend the first round and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change said there was no progress at subsequent negotiations. The cabinet said in a statement that Mr Mbeki had reported to a summit of regional leaders that he is confident of brokering a deal.

The cabinet also denied that Mr Mbeki blamed Britain for Zimbabwe's economic problems. According to a document circulating among diplomats before the summit that purported to be a draft of Mr Mbeki's position at the meeting, the South African leader joined Mr Mugabe in accusing the UK of leading a campaign of sanctions to bring Zimbabwe's economy to its knees. Mr Mbeki's office said it knew nothing about the document.

"[The] government once again categorically rejects the allegation that President Mbeki had blamed the British government for the problems in Zimbabwe. This is simply not true," the cabinet statement said.

At the end of their summit last week, the region's leaders said that Zimbabwe's crisis had been "exaggerated".

New inflation figures suggest otherwise. Official inflation rose to 7,634% in July, the highest in the world, although consumer groups say real inflation is probably twice that or even higher.