President Robert Mugabe said he would name his own cabinet soon if the opposition did not sign a power-sharing deal.
The opposition expressed concern Mugabe was turning his back on talks.
"We are a government, and we are a government that is empowered by elections," Mugabe was quoted as saying in Zambia on Wednesday. "So we should form a cabinet."
He added that if opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai had not signed yesterday, "we will certainly put together a cabinet. We cannot remain frozen forever."
Tendai Biti, Tsvangirai's chief negotiator in the power-sharing talks, said the newspaper story was the only word the opposition Movement for Democratic Change had heard of any plans by Mugabe to name a cabinet.
Biti said the talks were stalled, but would not elaborate on the reason.
"We remain committed to these talks. We want these talks to succeed," he said.
Biti said that if Mugabe formed a cabinet on his own, it would be "the final nail into the carcass of this dialogue".
The two sides remain at odds over who should have ultimate authority in any unity government.
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