JOHANNESBURG, July 25 (Xinhua) -- South African President Thabo Mbeki will continue to get support from the European Union (EU) in the mediation effort of the Zimbabwe crisis, the South African Press Association (SAPA) reported on Friday.

    French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose nation holds the rotating EU presidency, voiced the support in the French city Bordeaux after the first-ever EU-South Africa summit, the SAPA said.

    Mbeki was entrusted by the 14-member Southern African Development Community last March to mediate between Zimbabwe's rival parties, who started formal talks in a secret place in South Africa's administrative capital Pretoria to seek an end to Zimbabwe's political deadlock.

    Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, leader of the ruling party ZANU-PF, was declared on June 29 winner of the presidential run-off held on June 27 and was immediately sworn in for a new five-year term.

    However, Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the bigger faction of the opposition MDC, who received a leading number of votes in the first round of presidential election on March 29 but fell just short of an overall majority, boycotted the run-off and refused to acknowledge Mugabe's victory.

    Mugabe has not appointed a new cabinet or sworn in a new parliament.

    The rival parties of Zimbabwe signed in Harare Monday a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), under which they agreed to commit themselves to a dialogue.

    There is consensus within the EU that Mbeki should be granted more time to deal with the issue, particularly as it appears to be bearing fruit, according to the SAPA report.

    However, Sarkozy has said the negotiations should not be drawn out for too long.