SAfrican president cites “substantial” progress in talks to end coalition deadlock in Zimbabwe

Zuma: “substantial” progress in Zimbabwe talks

HARARE, Zimbabwe — South African President Jacob Zuma says he believes he made great progress during his first trip to Zimbabwe as chief mediator between members of the fragile power-sharing government.

Zuma said in a statement Thursday that coalition members agreed to an unspecified measures that will make them compliant with guidelines from regional leaders.

Zuma replaced former South African President Thabo Mbeki as chief regional mediator on Zimbabwe last year and has faced mounting pressure to take a firmer stand to resolve differences in the Harare coalition between longtime ruler President Robert Mugabe and former opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, now Prime Minister. Their power sharing deal faced collapse in November.