Madagascar's crisis talks resumed smoothly on Thursday but the island's political deadlock is "complicated", said mediating chief Joaquim Chissano, as feuding rivals sought to end an ongoing stand-off.
   
Interim leader Andry Rajoelina and ousted president Marc Ravalomananana are in the Mozambican capital for first-time direct talks alongside former leaders Didier Ratsiraka and Albert Zafy.
   
The leaders met mediators separately on Thursday before moving to a closed door meeting and are set to regroup in a plenary session later.
   
"It's going well. The issues are complicated but it's going well," lead  mediator, ex-Mozambican president Joaquim Chissano said as the talks broke for lunch.
   
The second day of the dialogue was set to get to the heart of the crisis after months of stand-off since Rajoelina took power in March with the army's backing, following violent riots that left more than 100 people dead.
   
The four key issues are a transition charter, electoral law, the country's constitution, and the composition of the parliament, Southern African  Development Community (SADC) executive secretary Tomaz Salomao told AFP.
   
All previous attempts to find a negotiated solution have foundered on the  content of the transition charter supposed to take Madagascar to new elections and bring the country out of its current isolation.
   

An icy start
Despite an initial icy atmosphere between Ravalomanana and Rajoelina at the opening Wednesday, the pair later shook hands and at dinner chinked glasses, a diplomatic source said.
   
"It's going to be fine, I'm optimistic," Ravalomanana said as he arrived for the morning talks, while Rajoelina reaffirmed hope of finding a solution.
   
Madagascar has been in crisis since January because of a standoff between  Ravalomanana and Rajoelina, then mayor of the capital and leader of an increasingly vociferous opposition.
   
After bloody demonstrations, Ravalomanana, abandoned by the army, put power  in the hands of a military directorate who immediately transferred it to Rajoelina.

Source: AFA