Zimbabwean authorities today vowed to block any efforts by Britain and the United States to put the country on the agenda of the United Nations Security Council.

"You do not convene a UN Security Council meeting for a sovereign state without consulting that country," Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu was quoted as saying by the state-owned Herald newspaper.

robert mugabe"We are not a threat. If they insist, we will work hard to block it with the assistance of our friends," he said.

The 15-member Security Council was due today to hold a closed-door meeting amid rising pressure on President Robert Mugabe to step down as his country buckles under an economic meltdown and cholera crisis.

The United States blames the veteran leader for the country's downward spiral, with over 16,000 affected by cholera as political rivals remain in a logjam over a power-sharing government.

Starting a process

Last week US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Washington was talking to Zimbabwe's neighbour South Africa and other Security Council members about how to "start a process that will bring an end to the tragedy that is unfolding in Zimbabwe."

Several world leaders have called on Mugabe to leave office, including US President George W Bush, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Since September, Zimbabwean political leaders have been unable to resolve differences on who will head key ministries such as home affairs in a unity government.

On Saturday, South Africa urged Mugabe to swear in opposition leader and prime minister designate Morgan Tsvangirai to form an inclusive government.

Zimbabwe, once a role model economy in Africa, now faces a myriad of problems including run-away inflation of 231 million percent, compounded by a growing humanitarian crisis as cholera has killed nearly 800 people.

-AFP