The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Micheál Martin, has expressed deep concern and disappointment at the unilateral appointment by Robert Mugabe of Zanu PF members to key ministries in Zimbabwe.
Mr Martin said the unilateral allocation of the ministries of finance, home affairs and defence called into question the entire basis of last month's agreement between Mr Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai and the future of the power-sharing talks.
He said the matter would be high on the agenda when he meets his EU counterparts for a regular meeting on Monday.
Mr Mugabe and Mr Tsvangirai, leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, had failed to agree on the allocation of the powerful ministries.
The MDC said the move threatened the power-sharing deal agreed with Mr Mugabe on 15 September.
'This is ZANU-PF's arrogant wish list that puts the whole deal into jeopardy. It is unilateral, contemptuous and outrageous,' MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa said.
'Just yesterday we agreed to call in the facilitator Thabo Mbeki because there was a deadlock. The MDC totally and absolutely rejects this nonsense.'
Mr Mugabe's move follows a meeting with Mr Tsvangirai during which they agreed to call Mr Mbeki, former South African President and talks' facilitator, after a deadlock on the allocation.
The power-sharing deal allows, Mr Mugabe, in power since Zimbabwe's independence from Britain in 1980, to retain the presidency and chair the cabinet while Mr Tsvangirai as prime minister would head a council of ministers supervising the cabinet.
