South African officials on Wednesday said President Thabo Mbeki would not attend a regional crisis meeting on Zimbabwe on Wednesday as his government noted it was confident that a solution could be found before run-off presidential elections on Friday, according to dpa. The South African government was convinced the solution to the situation in Zimbabwe could only be found if all parties involved agreed to a settlement, government spokesman Themba Maseko told journalists after a cabinet meeting. South Africa, which was engaged in talks with Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), did not want to be seen to be taking sides in Zimbabwe, Maseko was quoted as saying by the South African press agency Sapa. "Our government is doing more than any other party to try and find a political settlement in Zimbabwe. The only possible solution for Zimbabwe is an agreement from all sides," he said. "We are indeed making progress." Mbeki's spokesman earlier Wednesday confirmed the Southern African Development Community (SADC) mediator in Zimbabwe would not attend the crisis in Swaziland to discuss the presidential run-off in Zimbabwe. "We are at home the whole day. The president is not going," his spokesman Mukoni Ratshitanga said, according to Sapa. Ratshitanga said Mbeki would be in Cape Town on Wednesday and as far as he knew, had no scheduled meetings with representatives of Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu-PF or the MDC. "We have never received an invitation to attend the meeting. Of course you would need an invitation to attend a meeting of an organ that you are not a member (of)." The South African Broadcasting Corporation reported that Swaziland was hosting the meeting to discuss the crisis in Zimbabwe. The meeting, in Mbabane, has been called by Swaziland's King Mswati, who chairs the states making up SADC's safety and security organ, the reports said. Leaders of Tanzania, Angola and Swaziland were also due to attend the summit. The MDC has pulled out of Friday's presidential election run-off between its leader Morgan Tsvangirai and President Robert Mugabe. Mbeki has been part of a team that has been attempting to resolve the long-standing political crisis in Zimbabwe.
