Kenya's rivals resumed talks on Tuesday to seek a way out of the country's crisis after the United States stepped up pressure on President Mwai Kibaki to accept a power-sharing deal, but the government introduced fresh hurdles.

Former UN chief Kofi Annan held talks with Kibaki a day after after US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice pressed for a swift power-sharing deal between Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga after weeks of violence that left more than 1000 dead.

"I frankly believe that the time for a political settlement was yesterday," Rice told reporters on Monday after separate talks with Kibaki and Odinga, as well as former UN chief Kofi Annan who is leading the mediation effort.

The two sides were to discuss a political settlement which is seen as key to unlocking the current stalemate since Odinga claimed he was robbed of victory in fiercely fought presidential polls on 27 December.

"The Kenyan people expect more of their leaders. They expect their leaders to be able to overcome their differences," Rice said.

But government negotiator Mutula Kilonzo dismissed the talk of power-sharing, pushed by Washington, highlighting the deep rifts that have characterised the talks.

"That (power-sharing) is her opinion, this is not America, we already have a coalition government," Kilonzo told reporters in a new salvo at Rice's push for sharing of power.

Within the constitutional framework

The government in a statement said that any agreement must be within the current constitutional framework, dealing a fresh blow to any prospect of the creation of a post of executive prime minister.

In a meeting with Annan, Kibaki said "that he was willing to work together and share responsibilities in Government with members of the ODM," the presidential press service said in a statement.

"The president, however, cautioned that any political solution that will be proposed must be in tandem with the current Kenyan constitution."

"President Kibaki noted that the constitution must serve as a guide while the mediation team discussed what legal and institutional reforms are needed to move the country forward," the PPS statement added.

US President George W. Bush has called for a power-sharing deal, but the Kenyan government at the weekend said it would not accept any pressure to reach an agreement with the opposition.

Kibaki's camp has said it was willing to include opposition members in government, but under the strong executive leadership of the president.

Last week, the negotiators moved from Nairobi to a secluded safari lodge in southern Kenya to finalise details of a deal that Annan said was due in a matter of days.

Annan however returned from the talks on Friday to announce that no final agreement had been reached and that "the last outstanding issue" remained power-sharing in a new government.

Launched by the African Union, Annan's mediation is seen as Kenya's best hope for a political solution to move beyond the violence. The recent unrest has seen Kenyans killed by machete-wielding mobs, burnt in churches and driven off their land.

The violence has tapped into simmering resentment over land, poverty and the dominance of the Kikuyu, Kibaki's tribe, in Kenyan politics and business since independence from Britain in 1963.

AFP

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