Kenya's opposition and government has been urged to hold talks to end the political crisis as the top US diplomat for Africa extended a visit to the East African nation to help reconcile the two.
"We think that it is of primary importance that they open up those channels of communication," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said.
"They need to agree upon something that they can both live with that ends the political crisis and therefore ends the possibility of any further political violence," he added.
Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga today rejected a government offer of bilateral talks to end a crisis that has killed at least 500 people and displaced about 255,000, saying that without international mediation such a meeting would be a "sideshow."
Shunning international pressure, Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and Mr Odinga have still not met since violence erupted after Mr Kibaki's disputed re-election last month.
Mr Kibaki, who sees the crisis as a domestic issue, has been reluctant to accept international mediation despite the encouragement from the global community.
The State Department's top diplomat for Africa, Jendayi Frazer, had planned to leave Nairobi today after several days of trying to mediate but Mr McCormack said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had asked her to extend her trip.
He said Ms Frazer would make a one-day, pre-scheduled trip to the Comoros tomorrow but immediately go back to Kenya.
In a further diplomatic push to end the crisis, African Union chairman, Ghanaian President John Kufuor, was in Kenya to meet Mr Odinga and Mr Kibaki, and Mr McCormack said Ms Frazer also planned to consult the AU leader on how best to proceed.
Ms Frazer has been harshly critical of Kenya's political leaders following the election and the violence that ensued, saying earlier this week that Kenyans had been "cheated by their leadership and their institutions."
Mr Odinga says his rival stole the December 27th election and must step down and make way for a new vote after a transitional period.