"We are nearly finished," Moustapha Niasse, special envoy to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, told reporters in the South African capital, where the talks started more than a week ago.
Niasse explained that concluding the talks entailed finding an agreement to ensure the security of politicians and national institutions in the DRC capital Kinshasa during a two-year transition period leading up to elections.
Delegates from the DRC government, major rebel movements and the political opposition have been meeting in South Africa since last Monday to refine the details of a power-sharing agreement signed in December last year.
Haile Menkerios, Niasse's advisor, said the plenary was expected to be "more of a progress report than substantive talks".
"I expect we will have a general discussion rather than go into detailed content. We will report on the areas that are finalised and those that are not," Menkerios told AFP.
He added that the talks were in the last phase, but not yet finished.
"Perhaps that will come on Thursday or very late on Wednesday," the advisor anticipated.
Two committees were set up last Monday to deal with the constitutional and military and security components of the ceasefire agreement. Members at the time decided to meet in plenary Wednesday.
Menkerios declined to give details on the matters of disagreement, but said the "crucial issues" had been dealt with.
The talks, led by Niasse and South African Minister for Local and Provincial Government Sydney Mufamadi, are part of a process to lead the vast central African country to its first democratic elections since independence from Belgian four decades ago.
The DRC war broke out in August 1998, and at its height drew in more than half a dozen African countries, claiming some 2.5 million lives directly or indirectly through disease or starvation - Sapa-AFP
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