South African President Thabo Mbeki will meet Ivory Coast rebel leader Guillaume Soro soon as part of an ongoing effort to negotiate an end to the violence in the world's top cocoa producer, an official said on Monday. Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad told a news briefing South Africa was also arranging a summit that could bring Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo and rebel and opposition groups together in Abidjan within two to three weeks. South Africa has been asked by Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, chairman of the 53-member African Union, to lead the latest efforts to end the conflict in the once stable and prosperous West African country. "The meeting with Mr Soro will happen in the next few days, as soon as the president is back in the country," Pahad said. Mbeki is on an official visit to Belgium from where he will fly to Tanzania for a regional summit on Africa's Great Lakes region this week. He is due to return to South Africa at the weekend. There was no immediate confirmation from Soro he would travel to South Africa. Last week Mbeki met Ivorian opposition leaders, including former Prime Minister Alassane Ouattara, in consultations Pretoria sees as necessary to kickstart the peace process. Mbeki also met Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaore, who is accused by Abidjan of backing the rebels. Compaore denies the charge. --More 2143 Local Time 1843 GMT
