South African, French pres. play down differences over Zimbabwe at EU-South Africa talks

South African President Thabo Mbeki and French leader Nicolas Sarkozy played down differences over how best to deal with crisis-wracked Zimbabwe at an EU-South Africa summit on Friday. The two leaders instead emphasized their hope that recently begun talks between Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and his rival, opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, would lead to a quick resolution of the crisis, which flared up in March, when state-sponsored violence marred the country's presidential elections. "We are all of us agreed that it is important that the Zimbabwean political parties should move forward as a matter of urgency to reach an agreement," Mbeki told reporters at a news conference in the Atlantic port city of Bordeaux. Sarkozy thanked Mbeki for his role in mediating the talks, which began in a secret location earlier this... [read full story]