By Paul Simao
PRETORIA, Oct 5 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday described the crisis in Zimbabwe as "disastrous" after talks with South African President Thabo Mbeki, who has been criticised for not taking a tough line on the issue.
"I thank South Africa for trying to overcome a very unsatisfactory situation in Zimbabwe ... the situation is very difficult. Not to say a disastrous one which I very clearly said in our conversations," Merkel said after holding talks with Mbeki in Pretoria.
A source familiar with the meeting's agenda said earlier the German chancellor would try to persuade Mbeki to take a harder line with Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe.
Critics accuse Mugabe of human rights abuses and of presiding over the collapse of Zimbabwe's economy, which has the world's highest inflation rate of about 6,600 percent and unemployment levels of about 80 percent.
Mbeki has adopted a policy of "quiet diplomacy" toward Mugabe and has been mediating talks between Zimbabwe's ruling ZANU-PF party and the Movement for Democratic Change, the southern African nation's main opposition group.
The South African president said good progress has been made in the negotiations between the Zimbabwean rivals.
"Very good progress is being made ... these negotiations are going very well and there is a common determination to conclude them as quickly as possible. We are confident that they will reach an agreement on these matters," Mbeki said after his talks with Merkel.
"There is a united voice emerging from the ruling party (ZANU-PF) and opposition on what to do to address these political problems," he added.
EU-AFRICA SUMMIT
Merkel, who put tackling poverty in Africa on the Group of Eight industrialised countries' agenda during her presidency of the grouping this year, has not signalled a willingness to follow British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's cue on Zimbabwe.
Last month Brown said he would boycott an EU-Africa summit in Lisbon in December if Mugabe was invited.
On Friday, Merkel reiterated her government's position that everybody should be invited to the summit.
"We will raise criticism as may be but we will do so in the presence of everyone and everyone has the right to attend," she said.
African leaders are threatening their own boycott if Mugabe does not attend the summit, which is aimed at tackling the continent's problems.
Mugabe, in power since independence from Britain in 1980, is subject to an EU travel ban, although it is expected that it would be suspended to allow him to attend the summit.
The Zimbabwean leader says the West has sabotaged his country's economy as punishment for his seizure of thousands of white-owned firms and the transfer of the land to poor blacks. His critics blame the problems on economic mismanagement.
