Zimbabwe has agreed to stop the occupation of white-owned farms following increased pressure from the international community.
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The country has committed to "restore the rule of law to the process of land reform," Nigeria's Foreign Ministry said in an statement.
Under the accord, Britain and other countries agreed to bear the cost of compensating white farmers for land taken from them for redistribution to poor blacks.
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said: "It is not for me to judge if this is a breakthrough. Ultimately, what we have written on paper is not important . . . it depends on how events unfold [in Zimbabwe]".
The surprise accord came after a day of talks on Zimbabwe by Commonwealth foreign ministers.
The talks saw African leaders for the first time add their condemnation to that of Britain and other European nations over violence surrounding Zimbabwe's land-redistribution programme.
Nigerian Foreign Minister Mr Sule Lamido said at the session's opening: "Africa cannot afford another war, not least a racial war or one with racial undertones. The signals coming from the crisis in Zimbabwe cannot and should not be ignored".
The European Parliament had urged EU governments to impose their own sanctions on Zimbabwe President Mr Robert Mugabe for policies that MEPs said had created "a climate of fear and despair" in his country.
The 626-member EU assembly called on the 15 member states to freeze bank accounts held by Mr Mugabe, his family and close associates, ban travel by him to their countries and consider suspension of financial aid to Zimbabwe.
PA