(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-02-15 22:58

NAIROBI - Former United Nations chief Kofi Annan is Friday set to reveal details of an agreement between Kenyan government and the opposition aimed at ending the country's political crisis.

Mediators Graca Machel (R) and former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan talk inside the old parliament chambers in Nairobi February 12, 2008. [Agencies]

He said Thursday that the two sides had signed a deal. Both teams have returned to the capital from an exclusive tourist resort after the talks were adjourned.

Also Thursday, a government negotiator reportedly said the two sides agreed to write a new constitution within the next year, which political observers say would pave the way for power-sharing as part of a deal aimed at ending the post-election violence that is threatening the country's stability.

Annan has been serving as chief mediator in talks on ending violence that erupted after Kenya's disputed presidential election in December last year.

More than 300,000 people have been displaced and more than 1, 000 have died in clashes since the opposition Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) accused President Mwai Kibaki of stealing the December 27 election.

The international community is pushing for a deal which would see ODM Raila Odinga share power with President Kibaki.

In bid to shore up talks, US President George W. Bush announced he is sending Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to Kenya to demand an end to the violence. Rice will accompany Bush on his upcoming trip to Africa.

Bush said he has asked Rice to support Annan's mediation efforts and call for a full return to democracy.

A spokesman for Odinga said Bush's decision to send Rice to Kenya is an encouraging sign that could help stop the violence.

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