U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is “very concerned” by Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's refusal to reach a power-sharing deal with his opponents and wants South Africa to put more pressure on him, the State Department said Monday. Spokesman Robert Wood said Clinton was “very focused” on the political impasse in Zimbabwe and was looking at what could be done to end the crisis. “We're very troubled by the fact that the Mugabe regime refuses to negotiate seriously with the opposition,” Wood told reporters. “Clinton is very focused on this issue. She is very concerned about it. Obviously we are going to be reviewing the situation in southern Africa to see what we can do.” Asked if Clinton was planning a new approach to Zimbabwe, Wood replied that the Obama administration was reviewing the overall situation, but he declined to provide details. Regional leaders meeting in South Africa this week have so far failed to get Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai to implement a power-sharing deal first agreed to in September. Wood urged the Southern African Development Community (SADC), and particularly South Africa, to do more to get both sides to reach an agreement. “We have encouraged South Africa to do as much as it can to put pressure on Mugabe to do the right thing. But to date, Mugabe does not seem to have any interest whatsoever in bringing an end to the crisis,” Wood said.
