"We came to this meeting hoping we would put the people’s plight to rest and conclude these power-sharing discussions,” Tsvangirai told reporters as he left talks mediated by South African President Kgalema Motlanthe.
"Unfortunately, there’s been no progress because the very same outstanding issues on the agenda… are the same issues that are creating this impasse,” said the leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
"For us as the MDC, this is probably the darkest day of our lives, for the whole nation is waiting. "We are committed to this deal. We are committed to the power-sharing government, subject to the resolution of these issues.”
President Mugabe said power-sharing talks would continue in Zimbabwe ahead of a regional summit next week. Mugabe said the talks broke down after Tsvangirai’s MDC presented its own proposals which differed from recommendations by the 15-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC).
"We will continue with discussions here at home,” Mugabe told reporters after leaving the talks.
"We shall continue to exchange ideas and see where the differences are with the SADC proposal.”
Leaders of the 15-nation SADC will hold the summit on Monday, January 26 in a new bid to break the deadlock, the group’s executive secretary Tomaz Salomao told reporters.
"The meeting was not conclusive,” he said of the talks on Monday between Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai. – Agence France-Presse