Mugabe said he will talk to the MDC only if they recgonise him as president of Zimbabwe [AFP]

Patrick Chinamasa, the justice minister, said an agreement will be signed on Monday afternoon, laying out a framework within which negotiations would be held under the mediation of Thabo Mbeki, the South African president.

"The signing will take place this afternoon," said Chinamasa, who is also the chief negotiator for Zanu-PF.

International pressure for the parties to negotiate intensified  after Robert Mugabe won a one-man presidential run-off election, after it had been boycotted by Morgan Tsvangirai, the MDC leader, due to a wave of deadly attacks against his supporters.

The MDC says that at least 120 people have been killed in politically motivated violence.

Tsvangirai has previously refused to negotiate with Mugabe unless he and Zanu-PF recognised his victory in the first round of the presidential poll on March 29.

Memorandum of understanding

The South African government confirmed that Mbeki would fly to Harare, the capital, to oversee the signing between Zanu-PF and the MDC.

A  foreign ministry statement read: "Mbeki will travel to Harare to facilitate the signing  of a memorandum of understanding among the Zimbabwean political  parties.

"The memorandum represents a positive step forward in the ongoing dialogue among the parties as facilitated by President Mbeki acting on behalf of SADC [Southern African Development Community]."

The move comes after a series of meetings between Mbeki, the rival parties and officials from the UN and African  Union.

Haile Menkerios, the UN special representative to Zimbabwe, and Jean Ping, the  African Union commission chairman, who met the parties over the weekend, had both expressed confidence the pact would be signed.

Menkerios said the draft, once signed, would clear the way for actual talks on the future of the country to take place.

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