President Mwai Kibaki and ODM leader Raila Odinga are set to meet face to face at Harambee House, the official President office for the third time, this time round to unlock a stalemate in the Kofi Annan led talks over the options out of the diputed Presidential results.

The meeting comes only hours after both leaders showed signs in public of ceding their hardline positions.

Raila Odinga told a Press Conference Thursday evening that his party was willing "to give as much as it takes in the talks."

" We are no longer insisting that President Kibaki steps down we have moved further into looking for common ground," Raila explained.

Kibaki on his part dedicated a speech delivered during a National Prayer meeting at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC) Friday morning to underline his commitment to dialogue saying " I am personally dedicated to finding a solution to both the short term and long term differences"

Kibaki also argued, "we need alot of prayers and people should stop killing and avenging, instead we should embrace our differences in dialect as our unique creation and use them our strength."

The statements that come just hours before the face to face meeting have boosted the optimism ahead of the evening meeting at Harambee House to be mediated by Former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan.

See the whole Tip-to-Annan series

See videos on post-election Kenya and on the whole election coverage
See the Kenya Protest - Day One photo gallery
See The Kenya Protest - Day Two photo gallery
See the Nakuru displaced photo gallery
See the burial of violence victim photo gallery


Keywords: kenya_elections