Bush urges swift end to Zimbabwe crisis: White House

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush raised Zimbabwe's post-election crisis with U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday, saying it had dragged on too long and should be resolved peacefully, the White House said.

The United States and Britain have been pushing the U.N. Security Council to discuss the worsening situation in Zimbabwe this week, more than two weeks after elections that raised doubts about President Robert Mugabe's grip on power.

A Zimbabwe High Court judge on Monday refused an opposition request to order that results of the March 29 presidential poll be released. Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai says he won and that Mugabe is planning violence to overturn the outcome.

"President Bush said (in a telephone call to U.N. Secretary-General Ban) it's important for the situation in Zimbabwe to be resolved peacefully and soon. It's gone on too long," White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said.

Bush last week urged Zimbabwe's electoral commission to quickly release presidential election results that "reflect the will of the people."

South Africa's ruling ANC party on Tuesday warned of a "dire" situation in Zimbabwe which was having a negative impact on all of southern Africa.

Zimbabwe's opposition accuses Mugabe, 84, of delaying an announcement of the result to avoid acknowledging his biggest defeat since taking power in 1980.

Mugabe's ZANU-PF party lost control of parliament for the first time in the election but no results of the parallel presidential vote have been issued.

Mugabe, a stridently anti-U.S. leader, has often been criticized by Bush. Before leaving on a five-nation Africa tour in February, Bush assailed Mugabe as a "discredited dictator."

(Reporting by Matt Spetalnick; editing by David Storey)