Kgalema Motlanthe, the ANC's deputy president, called for talks after he and ANC Secretary-General Gwede Mantashe met with Mugabe in Harare on Wednesday, Zimbabwe's state-controlled Herald newspaper reported on Thursday.

"He said ANC also supported the SADC (Southern African Development Community) and AU (African Union) positions that dialogue between ZANU-PF and the opposition parties was the only way to address the challenges facing Zimbabwe," the paper said.

"Unity of our people is paramount. It is a precondition for development," Motlanthe is quoted as saying when asked whether talks were key to solving the crisis over Mugabe's June 27 run-off election victory, which Western nations branded a sham.

Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai defeated Mugabe in a March 29 poll but fell short of the absolute majority required to avoid a run-off.

Tsvangirai withdrew from the second ballot, citing violent attacks by pro-Mugabe militia. The MDC said 103 of its supporters have been killed in the violence. Mugabe blames the opposition for the bloodshed.

The MDC leader also has refused to recognise Mugabe's landslide victory in the run-off or hold talks with the government as long as the June election is allowed to stand.

South African President Thabo Mbeki has been mediating the Zimbabwean crisis for more than a year but has failed to make a breakthrough. His involvement has come under growing scrutiny, with the MDC arguing that he is biased in favour of Mugabe.

Tsvangirai has frosty relations with Mbeki and has demanded that the AU appoint an envoy to help with any future mediation, a move that is seen as an attempt to dilute the South African leader's influence or freeze him out.

ANC leader Jacob Zuma, who defeated Mbeki for the leadership of the party in December, has been a vocal critic of Mugabe's government. ANC involvement in the mediation process could spur Tsvangirai's MDC to return to the bargaining table.

But there remains sharp disagreement as to the framework of any talks, with Tsvangirai demanding the March elections be used as the basis for negotiations and Mugabe saying the opposition must accept his re-election.

The United States and Britain want international sanctions imposed on Mugabe and his top officials and an arms embargo on Zimbabwe. They are expected to offer a draft resolution calling for the restrictions in the U.N. Security Council this week.

Russia, which has a veto in the Council, has expressed misgivings about the resolution, while African nations firmly oppose it, saying it could derail a negotiated settlement in Zimbabwe.