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DAR ES SALAAM, Oct 10 (AFP) - The Rwandan government and the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) were holding a plenary session on Saturday in an effort to resolve differences over presidential powers, sources at peace talks said.
Since the talks resumed Tuesday in the northern Tanzanian town of Arusha under Tanzanian mediation, government and RPF delegations have failed to reach a common understanding on presidential power-sharing in an interim government to lead the country to democratic rule.
The government in Kigali has proposed a ministerial council headed by an executive president, while the rebels want a seven-man presidential council with executive powers, comprised of representatives from all major forces involved in the conflict.
But according to conference sources contacted Saturday by telephone, the two protagonists in Rwanda's two-year civil war have agreed on some of presidential prerogatives and powers, but have yet to consider how they can be delegated to the cabinet.
Conference sources said that during the session, which followed two days of intensive direct private consultations between the two sides, that they had now come out with areas of partial and total agreement, but others still needed clarification and further elaboration.
Senior Tanzanian foreign ministry official Ami Mpungwe told AFP after Saturday morning session that the Rwandan government had presented and elaborated its latest proposals, while RPF would outline its own position on Saturday evening.
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