US President George W Bush says South African President Thabo Mbeki is "the point man" to resolve Zimbabwe's political and economic crisis, which Washington has warned threatens regional stability.
| I wouldn't expect too much from him. Bob'll die of old age before anything Thabo sets in motion happens... |
In a warming of relations, the two leaders publicly set aside differences over Mr Mbeki's opposition to the US-led invasion of Iraq and presented a united front on Zimbabwe in hour-long talks that also touched on Liberia, AIDS and trade. Zimbabwe had been expected to expose fresh divisions. Washington had called for southern African states to pressure Zimbawean President Robert Mugabe to agree to political changes, while Mr Mbeki is reluctant to lean on his northern neighbour. But Mr Bush said after the talks in Pretoria he would not second guess Mr Mbeki's policy of "quiet diplomacy" on Zimbabwe. Mr Bush, whose rethink has been prompted by growing US reliance on Africa's oil and intelligence that Al Qaeda could use Africa as a hideout, says Mr Mbeki was working very hard on Zimbabwe. "He believes he's making good progress. I think Mr Mbeki can be an honest broker," he said, adding that they both wanted the same outcome in Zimbabwe. But he says Washington will continue to speak out "when we see a situation where somebody's freedoms have been taken away from them and they're suffering". |