The path to negotiated settlement proved to be the widely supported option for the peninsular issue.
This announcement also puts at risk a negotiated settlement with reconcilable elements of the Taliban, who will now believe they can wait out the departure of U.S. forces.
Mr Tsvangirai has called for a negotiated settlement and wants regional bodies, backed by the UN, to help manage a transition, which would be harder to arrange if the run-off went ahead.
We express the hope that a climate conducive to a negotiated settlement will be created soon so that there may no longer be the need for the armed struggle.
Biti, at the time of the passport confiscation, said he believed this latest development is a message from Mr. Mugabe that he is not interested in a negotiated settlement.
