Zimbabwe Rivals Agree To Talks

Zimbabwe's president and opposition leader have signed an agreement calling for formal talks on sharing power.

A stern-looking President Robert Mugabe and a beaming Morgan Tsvangirai signed the deal laying out the conditions for talks on a coalition government.

The breakthrough in Harare follows nearly three months of violence that the opposition says left more than 120 dead, thousands injured and tens of thousands homeless.

It is the first time in a decade that the Mugabe and Tsvangirai are meeting face to face.

The United States accused Russia and China earlier this month of standing with Mugabe against his own people, after the two permanent members of the U.N. Security Council vetoed proposed sanctions against Zimbabwe.

The resolution would have imposed an arms embargo on Zimbabwe, an international travel ban and a freeze on the personal assets of Mugabe and 13 other officials.

It also called for the appointment of a U.N. special envoy for Zimbabwe.

The U.S., along with Britain and France, supported the resolution, arguing that sanctions were needed to respond to the violence and intimidation that opposition leaders and international observers said Mugabe and his supporters used to steal the recent presidential election.

Russia, however, claimed the sanctions would have taken the U.N. beyond its mandate, while China argued Zimbabwe should be allowed to resolve its political crisis on its own.