Kenya's feuding parties agreed on Friday to a four-point framework for talks they expect will resolve a violent political crisis within 15 days, chief mediator and former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said.
"We believe within 7 to 15 days, we should be able to tackle the first three agenda items," Mr Annan told reporters. "The first is to take immediate action to stop the violence."
At least 850 people have been killed in riots and ethnically motivated violence in Kenya since a disputed December 27th election returned President Mwai Kibaki to power.
The points the parties need to agree on include: the action needed to stop the violence, how to provide humanitarian aid to those affected by it, resolving the immediate political crisis and a longer-term solution, which Annan said should be agreed within a year.
The two sides said they had agreed only a skeleton model for talks but hoped to make progress quickly.
Mr Annan said they would discuss stopping ethnically motivated killings, how to deliver humanitarian aid to the affected and how to resolve the immediate political crisis before tackling a longer term solution, which could take a year.
Talks are to resume on Monday. Senior opposition official Musalia Mudavadi said they two sides agreed to urge supporters to end the violence, in which rival tribes are locked into a cycle of killings and lootings.
"We ... agreed on the agenda items ... We have made substantial progress on the first agenda item ... We are calling on the public to disband any illegal militia," he said.
Kenya's justice minister Martha Karua agreed and said steps would be taken to protect life and property after post-poll protests descended into bloodshed.
African leaders at a summit in neighbouring Ethiopia attended by the UN head Ban Ki-Moon had called for urgent action to stop the bloodletting, which has turned one of the continent's more stable nations and best economies into its most pressing crisis.
Kenya descended into political and ethnic killing after Mr Kibaki's disputed re-election in December. Mr Odinga says Mr Kibaki stole the vote, Mr Kibaki says he is the legitimately elected leader, while international observers said the count was so chaotic it was impossible to tell who won.
The United States and European countries have pledged their support for Mr Annan's mediation efforts. Donors have said aid programmes to Kenya are under review.
Fresh protests, in which witnesses said at least two people were killed, broke out yesterday after a police officer in the Rift Valley town of Eldoret shot dead an opposition legislator, the second killed in a week.