The New National Party said on Thursday it believed negotiations for change in Zimbabwe were taking place, despite denials from the official opposition there.
Party spokesperson for foreign affairs Dr Boy Geldenhuys said President Thabo Mbeki would not publicly lie about the situation in Zimbabwe.
On Wednesday Mbeki said discussions were taking place between the ruling Zanu-PF and the Movement for Democratic Change. MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai later accused Mbeki of making ”false and mischievous” statements to United States President George Bush, saying that the two parties were not in talks.
Geldenhuys said that in South Africa negotiations for change between the African National Congress and the then National Party were at an advanced stage before any official acknowledgement.
”If you asked anyone before 1990 if the NP was talking to the ANC, it would have been denied even though the talks were very much on track.”
He said it was a logical conclusion that talks were currently taking place between moderate factions of the MDC and Zanu-PF.
”I cannot believe that the President of South Africa would lie on this matter,” he said.
He added that Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and Tsvangirai were at risk of isolating themselves.
”The negotiating process in Zimbabwe can easily move beyond Morgan Tsvangirai and President Robert Mugabe and leave them isolated.” he said.
Geldenhuys went on to praise Mbeki and Bush for their ”statesmanship” in handling the meeting on Zimbabwe on Wednesday.
”Zimbabwe had the potential to derail the important meeting between President Thabo Mbeki and President George Bush. Statesmanship on both sides prevented this from happening,” he said.
However, he said it was now up to Mbeki to make a success of his approach to the crisis in Zimbabwe. – Sapa