Ayande Ntsaluba, director general of the foreign ministry, told reporters that a unity government was the only way for President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai to settle their differences.
"Every possible analysis that we make as the South African government clearly shows us that we cannot see any route thathas immediate prospects of success that bypasses the stage of some variant of an inclusive government in Zimbabwe," Ntsaluba said.
"We continue to hold the view that whatever the levels of discomfort among the various parties, every otherconceivable option is an option that would lead Zimbabwe down a more dangerous path," he said.
"Our continuous focus and our continuous hope is that the leaders of Zimbabwe will find a way around the difficulties they continue to have on that."
Mugabe and Tsvangirai signed a power-sharing deal four months ago, after disputed elections last year, but the deal has hit the rocks over disputes about who will control the most powerful ministries.