UNITED NATIONS, Nov 3 (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Monday he would nominate former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo as his special envoy to help find a political solution to the crisis in eastern Congo.

"He will work with the leaders of the region and the international community to bring about a lasting political solution," Ban told reporters.

Ban said Congolese President Joseph Kabila and Rwandan President Paul Kagame, seen as essential to resolving the crisis, had expressed a willingness to meet him (Ban) "sometime this weekend or early next week."

He added that he understood Kabila had expressed a willingness to "engage in talks" with renegade Congolese Gen. Laurent Nkunda, whose rebel troops have been poised to seize the capital of North Kivu in eastern Congo since last week.

Kabila and Kagame had begun a "direct dialogue" with each other even though they had not so far met face-to-face, Ban said, describing this as a "positive development."

On plans for a regional summit to discuss the Congo crisis, Ban said he understood that Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, current African Union chairman, would convene it in Nairobi or elsewhere in Africa "sometime soon this month." (Reporting by Patrick Worsnip, editing by Anthony Boadle)

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