Zimbabwe returns Tsvangirai's passport

HARARE, Zimbabwe (CNN) -- Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai had his passport briefly confiscated at Harare's airport Thursday, delaying his trip to a regional conference in South Africa, a spokesman for his party said.

Movement for Democratic Change spokesman George Sibotshiwe said Secretary General Tendai Biti and Secretary for International Relations Eliphas Mukonoweshuro also had their documents and passports taken by officials.

The MDC said Tsvangirai and the two others were at the airport when agents from the Central Intelligence Organization told the men their names were "on the list" and took away their documents.

The three MDC leaders had heading for the South Africa Development Community meeting at which Zimbabwe's political crisis was expected to be high on the agenda.

It was unclear whether the South African government or SADC intervened to return the passports and travel documents to Tsvangirai and his party officials.

"There is absolutely no logic and objectivity in the move," Biti told CNN shortly afterward. "It's totally uncalled for, totally not based on any logic." Watch the MDC's Tendai Biti explain what happened to Tsvangirai »

The opposition leader has this week been taking part in power-sharing talks with longtime President Robert Mugabe in a bid to end the crisis which has seen the country racked by violence and economic chaos, but these have stalled.

Tsvangirai claims he won a presidential election in March and refused to contest a subsequent run off vote, saying his supporters were being intimidated by Mugabe loyalists.

The opposition leader was fur to attend the South African summit alongside Mugabe and Arthur Mutambara, leader of an MDC. The three have been holding power-sharing talks in Zimbabwe's capital, Harare, with South African President Thabo Mbeki, SADC's appointed mediator for Zimbabwe.

The MDC said the incident shows Mugabe's regime is not sincere about dialogue and said it undermines the process.

"We are happy that the world now has an idea of how the regime is vindictive," said Luke Tamborinyoka, the MDC's information director. "It's like negotiating with a knife on the table."

The MDC called on SADC, the African Union, and the international community to take a strong position against Mugabe.

The incident came a day after Mutambara denied his group had signed a deal with Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF party separate from Tsvangirai. Mutambara described the discussions he was having as "tripartite."

Mugabe's party had said Tuesday that the embattled president had signed a power-sharing deal with Mutambara's breakaway faction. ZANU-PF said the deal promised Cabinet positions to the MDC splinter group and did not involve Tsvangirai.

Tsvangirai said the power-sharing deal with the MDC offshoot was part of larger deal that had not been signed.

"There are three key sticking issues, and we hope that those three key sticking issues will be resolved," Biti said, without giving details. "I think that if all of us are open and objective and put Zimbabwe first, they shouldn't take time to resolve."

The power-sharing talks are a culmination of the MDC's protest of Mugabe's disputed June re-election in a run-off against Tsvangirai, which was condemned internationally as a sham.

CNN's Nkepile Mabuse contributed to this report from Johannesburg, South Africa.