MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th October, 2020) Russia will enhance investment cooperation with Zimbabwe and promote the African country's socio-economic development to help it overcome the consequences of US and EU sanctions, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Sunday, the day of solidarity against restrictions imposed on Zimbabwe.
"We intend to further contribute to the socio-economic development of this state, as well as to help it overcome the disastrous consequences of these sanctions by building up mutually beneficial investment, scientific and technical cooperation as part of implementation of the existing bilateral Russian-Zimbabwean agreements at the highest level," the statement said.
The ministry notes that on October 25 member countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) celebrate the day of struggle for lifting unilateral sanctions against Zimbabwe.
"We express our solidarity with the position of SADC countries, demanding the immediate lifting of illegitimate restrictive measures against Zimbabwe, which is a full-fledged member of the international community ... We recall that in 2002-2003, the United States and the European Union, bypassing the UN Security Council, imposed a number of coercive measures, including blocking Zimbabwe's access to loans from international financial institutions," the statement said.
According to the ministry, these restrictions not only undermine the authority and prerogatives of the main UN body, but also directly harm the population of the African state.
In the early 2000s, Washington and Brussels introduced sanctions against then-Zimbabwean President Robert Gabriel Mugabe's administration, accusing it of undemocratic practices, human rights abuses and economic mismanagement, and urged it to carry out political and economic reforms. The sanctions made it impossible for the country to seek financial assistance from international organizations.
