President Robert Mugabe is expected to meet Morgan Tsvangirai later today at a Harare hotel in an attempt to end the crisis in Zimbabwe.

President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa arrived in the Zimbabwean capital on Saturday evening to mediate negotiations.

His arrival prompted fevered speculation in South African newspapers that a deal could be reached soon – possibly this evening – although neither side would comment officially on the reports other than to say the talks were progressing well.

"There could be a signing tomorrow, after the leaders have met to thrash out the remaining issues," said an official with the ruling Zanu-PF party told Reuters.

Zimbabwe, already deep in economic trouble, slipped further into crisis after presidential elections in March.

Hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans have crossed the borders in neighbouring South Africa, Zambia and Botswana to escape soaring unemployment and civil unrest.

Mr Tsvangirai, who heads the Movement for Democratic Change, won the first round of elections but withdrew from a run-off against Mugabe as government thugs attacked his supporters in a campaign of intimidation.

The opposition leader has since said he could work with moderates in the president’s party but would not share power with Mr Mugabe.

The two met for the time in a decade last month to kickstart peace talks but the negotiations broke down in days.

They resumed last week amid indications that Mr Tsvangirai may be offered the post of prime minister while Mr Mugabe would stay as president with immunity from prosecution for alleged human rights abuses during his reign.

Two deputy prime ministers would be appointed from each of their parties.

Signs of further progress emerged last week when the two leaders issued a joint appeal to their supporters to refrain from political violence.

A spokesman for Mr Mugabe said he would meet Mr Tsvangirai later today, as well as the leader of a breakaway MDC faction, Arthur Mutambara, to discuss forming a unity government.

Any deal would still need to be approved by Zimbabwe’s powerful security chiefs in the military and police.

A source close to the talks said: “One sticking point seems to be the position of security officials who are seeking immunity from prosecution, something that hasn’t been on the table so far.”

Regional leaders are due to meet in Johannesburg at the end of this week for a Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit, adding to the pressure on Mr Mbeki to achieve a breakthrough.

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