The Zimbabwean government and opposition parties were scheduled to begin talks Tuesday aimed at bringing an end to the country's political crisis and election-related violence.

President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, head of the Movement for Democratic Change, shook hands Monday on a deal to begin negotiations on a power-sharing agreement.

The leaders are giving themselves two weeks to work out an agreement, with talks starting Tuesday at a secret location in South Africa.

Tsvangirai, in an open message to Zimbabweans, said Tuesday that the deal to negotiate "offers the most tangible opportunity in the past 10 years to improve the lives of our fellow citizens." However, he cautioned, "our signatures alone do not guarantee that we will be able to make the most of this opportunity."

As part of the negotiation framework, Mugabe agreed to a key demand for an end to government-suborned attacks on opposition party workers and sympathizers.

Opposition parties and the international organization Human Rights Watch say the violence has killed dozens, injured thousands and sent thousands more fleeing from their homes since the first round of presidential voting and parliamentary elections in March, which Mugabe lost to Tsvangirai's MDC.

There are broad outlines for discussion and no indication what Mugabe, who has clung to power for 28 years, may be willing to concede. The leaders agreed on the need to work together "in an inclusive government" - the closest language to a power-sharing accord. And they committed to creating a "genuine, viable, permanent and sustainable solution."

The breakthrough in preliminary discussions toward holding talks came July 18 after South African President Thabo Mbeki, accused by Zimbabwean opposition leaders of being biased toward Mugabe, agreed to broaden the negotiations to include mediators from the United Nations and the African Union.

European Union considers options

Meanwhile, in Brussels on Tuesday, European Union foreign ministers are expected to consider tightening sanctions against Mugabe.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said Monday's meeting between Mugabe and Tsvangirai - their first in 10 years - was only "a first step." EU nations expect more proof that Mugabe is willing to sign up to a transitional government with the opposition, he said.

"It requires an end to the violence, it requires an end to the ban on humanitarian NGOs getting around Zimbabwe. Those are the first steps toward a resolution of the Zimbabwean crisis," Miliband told reporters.

The EU imposed a travel ban and asset freezes against Mugabe and about 130 of his associates in 2003 for human rights violations.

With files from the Associated Press

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