US President George W. Bush said Monday he was "extremely disappointed" with Zimbabwe's "sham" election, as world leaders pushed for sanctions against the regime.
"I care deeply about the people of Zimbabwe, I am extremely disappointed in the election, which I labelled a sham election," Bush said on the sidelines of a summit of rich nations at this mountain resort in northern Japan.
President Robert Mugabe's re-election on June 27 has been widely criticised. Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who won the first round but fell short of a majority, pulled out of the contest, citing a campaign of violence and intimidation.
France President Nicolas Sarkozy would back a UN Security Council resolution imposing sanctions on Mugabe's regime, which "tarnishes the image of all of Africa", a source close to the president said late Monday.
"We are in favour of sanctions against Zimbabwe through a UN Security Council resolution," the source told reporters in the spa resort of Toyako.
The United States last week proposed a resolution that would slap sanctions on Zimbabwe and 12 of its citizens, including Mugabe. The draft is expected to be published next week.
Germany was also clear at the G8 it wanted to see sanctions.
"We have made clear, I have made very clear, that the result of the election is not legitimate," German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters.
Germany "does not exclude more sanctions" against Zimbabwe, she said.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged Zimbabwe's parties to restore the "rule of law" and said he would take up the crisis with African leaders.
Ban, speaking to AFP on the plane taking him to the Group of Eight (G8) summit, said last month's election giving Mugabe a sixth term lacked legitimacy.
"Therefore I urged that political parties in Zimbabwe should work out an arrangement so that they can really bring back democratic rules, the rule of law and peace and stability in their country," Ban said in the interview.
African leaders attending an expanded session of the G8 summit acknowledged the growing concerns about Zimbabwe but did not endorse Washington's call for new UN Security Council sanctions.
"I want to assure you that the concerns that you have expressed are indeed the concerns of many of us in the African continent," said African Union chief and Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete.
"The only area that we may differ is on the way forward," said Kikwete, standing at Bush's side.
Kikwete noted that the African Union at a summit last week adopted a resolution calling for dialogue between Mugabe and Tsvangirai and for a government of national unity.
"We are saying no party can govern alone in Zimbabwe and therefore the parties have to work together, come out to work together in a government and then look at the future of their country together," said Kikwete.
The United States has introduced a UN Security Council resolution that would impose new diplomatic and economic sanctions on Mugabe and his regime, including an arms embargo, a travel ban and a freeze on financial transactions.
Earlier, Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, chair of the three-day summit, discussed Zimbabwe with Merkel and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
Brown, who has been outspoken over developments in the former British colony, told Fukuda it was "important to send a strong message to secure democracy in Zimbabwe," a Japanese government official said.
Fukuda told Brown that he shared his concerns and replied: "It is necessary for the G8 to have firm discussions on the issue and consider measures."
G8 leaders told their African counterparts that Zimbabwe was "a major negative factor for the whole of Africa," another Japanese official said.
While there were no clear objections to the G8 warnings, one African leader noted that putting pressure on Zimbabwe may worsen a confrontation between the ruling and opposition camps in the country, the officials said.
