Former Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano told Reuters that once President Mwai Kibaki and his opposition rival Raila Odinga made a joint effort to identify the problems that divided them they would start to find common ground.

"They just need some time to cool down their nerves. I think they will talk and find solutions to their problems," Chissano said in an interview on a visit to Tunisia. "As soon as they start talking they will be able to identify the common ground."

Asked if Kibaki and Odinga could find common ground, Chissano replied: "Yes. They have to identify the problem, because at the time I left (Sunday), they didn't have common views on what the problems are."

"So they have to find a way of starting a dialogue to that end, and map out the road to follow in solving each one of the problems that they will pinpoint in common."

Chissano was speaking on the eve of a visit to Nairobi by former U.N. secretary-general Kofi Annan who was due to start talks with both sides on Tuesday.

Diplomats hope he can bring Kibaki and Odinga into some sort of power-sharing arrangement, possibly before a fresh vote in the east African nation.

About 650 people have been killed in violence since Kibaki's re-election last month and 250,000 displaced in a country that is more used to taking refugees from war-torn Sudan and Somalia.

PUSH FOR GOOD GOVERNANCE

Chissano, who flies back to Kenya on Tuesday to help Annan's effort as part of a supporting mediation attempt by a group of former African heads of state, said he expected progress on creating a roadmap since both leaders had expressed support for outside help in resolving their differences.

"They each wrote a letter to us as the forum of former African heads of state and government to ask us to stay on to support the eminent persons group led by Kofi Annan," he said.

Chissano added without elaborating the rival camps had each agreed to form a delegation to advance efforts for a dialogue.

Turning to the economic damage caused by the crisis, Chissano said foreign investors could take heart from the fact that there was an attempt by African leaders to mediate.

He noted that in the past African leaders tended to stay out of each other's affairs. Now, there was a continental push for good governance. "In the past they would have said it would have been a matter for Kenya. But look, I jumped in there... A lot of African leaders went. This did not happen in the past," he said.

"What is happening in Kenya are consequences of old problems which were not tackled, which are coming to the surface now. Maybe it's like trying to cure some sore. Now you have a bit of pus that is coming to the surface. It is time to try and find remedies to heal it for good."