HARARE, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwe's opposition MDC-T is seeking a meeting between President Robert Mugabe and its leader to discuss distribution of ministries, the state media New Ziana reported on Sunday.

    The opposition party spokesperson Nelson Chamisa confirmed that the party has written to President Robert Mugabe requesting a meeting of the principals to resolve outstanding issues.

    "We have officially written to President Mugabe requesting him to avail himself for a meeting of the principals to resolve outstanding issues," Chamisa was quoted by New Ziana as saying.

    Chamisa said the party had given President Mugabe up to Jan. 20to convene the meeting, failure of which it would withdraw from the global agreement to form an inclusive government.

    "We hope that could be the way for the people of Zimbabwe who are suffering," he said. The MDC-T was anxious that the issue of formation of an inclusive government was finalized for the country to move forward, he added.

    Chamisa declined to comment on whether the party was prepared to make concessions on the contentious issue of controlling the Ministry of Home Affairs, saying such issues could not be discussed in public.

    He said the party was making some "modest" and "palpable" proposals that would allow resolution of the issue. "We hope the issue can be resolve if people are serious about solving the crisis in the country," he said.

    However, presidential spokesperson George Charamba said President Mugabe had not received the letter from the MDC. Charamba said the letter was also not necessary since President Mugabe had written to Tsvangirai inviting him to join the inclusive government and he responded by declining the offer as well as rubbishing the SDAC position on the matter.

    "The letter from them, which has not been received, is uncalled for, it is an afterthought and is therefore destined for the rubbish bin," he said. "They should therefore exercise their second option," he added.

    Mugabe, who began his annual leave at the beginning of this month, said he would be announcing a new cabinet when he returned to work in February.

    The opposition's request follows rejection by SADC chairperson and South African interim President Kgalema Motlanthe of requests by its leader Morgan Tsvangirai to convene a private meeting with President Mugabe to discuss outstanding issues and announcement by President Mugabe that he would go ahead and appoint a cabinet when he returns from annual vacation with or without the MDC-T.

    Interim President Motlanthe last week rejected the request by Tsvangirai, who wanted to subvert talks facilitator and former South African President Thabo Mbeki who the MDC-T and its Western backers have accused of being soft on Mugabe.