The International Monetary Fund chief said Wednesday it's too soon to extend loans to troubled Zimbabwe.

IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn, speaking to reporters at the end of a two-day South African visit Wednesday, said he and President Jacob Zuma discussed Zimbabwe a day earlier. Zuma has led efforts to get rival Zimbabwe politicians to reconcile, and says the international community should support that with aid and loans.

Strauss-Kahn says Zimbabwe's political problems must be resolved before the money can flow.

"The problem in a country like Zimbabwe is not only an economic problem. It's mostly a political problem," he said.

Asked about a law that went into effect this month in Zimbabwe requiring Zimbabwean businesses to be controlled by blacks, Strauss-Kahn seized on it as an example of politics presenting hurdles to recovery.

Such moves "which may not lead obviously or rapidly to a kind of reconciliation ... will not, definitely, solve the problem of the Zimbabwe economy," Strauss-Kahn said.

The law was passed by parliament when it was still dominated by President Robert Mugabe's lawmakers in 2008. Mugabe recently defended the law, saying it was aimed at ensuring "the people of the country own what is rightfully theirs." His prime minister, though, argues the law is unworkable and will discourage much-needed investment,

South Africa and other neighbors pressed Mugabe and longtime rival Morgan Tsvangirai to form the coalition after a series of inconclusive elections marred by violence that was blamed on Mugabe's supporters. The first year of unity government has been marred by political bickering and impasse and continued attacks on opponents by Mugabe loyalists.

Vincent Magwenya, Zuma's spokesman, told The Associated Press Wednesday that with Zimbabwe it should not be a question of political resolution first, then economic re-engagement with the international community, arguing the two go hand-in-hand.

Last month, the IMF restored Zimbabwe's voting rights after a seven-year suspension over failure to pay $1.3 billion it owes the organization and other creditors. While that was a step forward, Strauss-Kahn said Wednesday: "We're not now at the point where resuming lending will be possible."

The IMF said last month Zimbabwe has started reducing the $140 million it owed the Washington-based lending organization at the end of 2009. But IMF officials said it has to produce a program to settle debts to other creditors that total $1.3 billion before IMF lending can resume.

With voting rights restored, Zimbabwe can participate in IMF decision-making and receive technical advice.