South Africa's ex-President Thabo Mbeki is confident he will be able to salvage Zimbabwe's power-sharing deal in talks in Harare, his spokesman says.
"We are convinced that we should be able in the end, no matter how long it takes, to reach a conclusion," he said.
Negotiations stalled after President Robert Mugabe allocated key ministries to his Zanu-PF party at the weekend.
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It is expected to debate a constitutional amendment to allow opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai to become prime minster, a key point of the agreement.
But Mr Tsvangirai has threatened to pull out of the deal after a government list published on Saturday gave the main ministries, including defence, home, foreign affairs, and justice, to Zanu-PF.
He wants all cabinet positions to be revisited in discussions with Mr Mbeki, who brokered the agreement signed last month, but Zanu-PF says only one ministry - finance - is up for discussion.
"As far as we are concerned, the only contention is the Ministry of Finance," Zanu-PF negotiator Patrick Chinamasa told the state-run Herald newspaper.
According to the deal - which allocates 14 ministries to Zanu-PF, 13 to Mr Tsvangirai's MDC and three to a smaller MDC faction - only Zanu-PF has a ministerial seat vacant.
Mr Mbeki arrived in the Zimbabwean capital, Harare, on Monday night.
It is his first intervention in Zimbabwe since he stood down as president, just days after brokering the agreement.
Correspondents say it it not clear if he will still wield the same clout in negotiations.
Local journalist Brian Hungwe says he looked at ease as he arrived in Harare, smiling and waving to people.
But political analysts say Mr Mbeki has little room to manoeuvre given the stance of both parties.
Some people in the capital, frustrated by the deadlock and the crippling economic crisis, have been asking why Mr Mbeki allowed a deal to be signed without the cabinet post being agreed, Brian Hungwe says.
"Nobody held a gun on the head of anybody to say: 'Thou shalt sign or else…'," said Mr Mbeki's spokesman, Mukoni Ratshitanga.
"It's the political parties in Zimbabwe that had decided they had reached an agreement."
On Sunday, Mr Tsvangirai said that if Zanu-PF wanted the defence ministry, the MDC must have home affairs, which controls the police.
"We are still placing our faith in the efforts of the mediator, and that Zanu-PF has to be persuaded that it has to share and not grab power," MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa said, Reuters news agency reports.
Before Mr Mbeki's arrival, Mr Mugabe swore in two vice-presidents.
The European Union condemned Mr Mugabe's "unilateral decision" to form a new government and ministers hinted that they could extend sanctions against Mr Mugabe and his close allies.
On Thursday, it was announced that Zimbabwe's annual inflation rate had soared to 231,000,000% - by far the highest in the world.
The UN says two million people are in need of food aid, and that the figure will rise to 5.1 million - or 45% of the population - by early 2009.
(BBC)
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