Q&A: Zimbabwe crisis

Mr Mugabe and Mr Tsvangirai shook hands at their first meeting in a decade

Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai have agreed to hold talks about a possible power-sharing government, as a way out of the country's economic and political crisis.

Both men claim to have won this year's presidential elections, while the opposition accuses Mr Mugabe of using a campaign of violence against its activists.

The economic situation continues to deteriorate - the official annual inflation rate is 2.2m%, while a new Z$100bn note cannot buy a loaf of bread.

What happens next?

Now the real work begins.

ZIMBABWE TALKS What MDC wants: Mugabe to step down "Transitional authority" to organise new elections What Zanu-PF wants: Mugabe to be accepted as president MDC to take a few minor ministries International community to drop sanctions and help kick-start economy Full text of the Memorandum of Understanding[39KB]

So far, they have only agreed to talk - there is no guarantee they will reach a deal to work together to end Zimbabwe's economic and political crisis.

Both men claim to be Zimbabwe's rightful president.

But they have agreed to discuss some form of power-sharing agreement.

As ever, the devil is in the detail.

Mr Mugabe might see power-sharing as giving a few minor ministries to Mr Tsvangirai and his allies.

In 1987, Mr Mugabe's Zanu party in effect swallowed up its then rival Zapu in a unity accord to end civil conflict.

He might be thinking of something similar now.

The opposition Movement for Democratic Change wants Mr Mugabe to step down and a transitional authority set up to organise new, internationally supervised elections, which it thinks it would win.

They are supposed to find some compromise between these two positions within two weeks.

So is this deal important?

Yes - Mr Mugabe and Mr Tsvangirai met for the first time in a decade and they even shook hands.

Mr Mugabe normally refers to Mr Tsvangirai as a "traitor" or a "Western puppet" - accusing him of working for the former colonial power, Britain.

So for the two rivals to meet is a real change in their relations, which may open the way for a substantive deal.

Why did they agree to talk?

Both sides came under heavy international pressure to find a solution to Zimbabwe's crisis.

Furthermore, the economic collapse made Mr Mugabe and his allies realise that something had to change.

The central bank is constantly printing new banknotes to keep up with an official annual inflation rate of 2.2m%.

The latest note is for 100bn Zimbabwe dollars - but this does not even buy a loaf of bread and is worth less than US$1 on the black market.

Meanwhile, the MDC had been warned that it could be "wiped out" if it refused to talk.

Many of its newly-elected MPs and councillors have fled their homes, after coming under attack by militias from Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF party.

The final push came when the African Union and United Nations agreed to help South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki with the mediation effort.

The MDC had accused Mr Mbeki of being too soft on Mr Mugabe but agreed to take part in talks after the AU and UN joined the process.

What happened in the election?

In the first round in March, Mr Tsvangirai gained more votes than Mr Mugabe.

But election officials say neither candidate gained the 50% needed for victory, so a run-off was held in June.

Ahead of this, there were numerous, credible reports of a systematic campaign of violence against MDC activists.

About 100 were killed, 5,000 abducted and 200,000 forced from their homes, the opposition said.

Mr Mugabe said "only God" could remove him from power.

This led Mr Tsvangirai to pull out of the run-off.

He said he wanted to save the lives of his supporters and said that if Mr Mugabe would not accept defeat, there was no point in taking part in a sham election.

There were also parliamentary elections in March, in which the MDC won a majority.

But the presidency is a far more powerful institution.