President Emmerson Mnangagwa has openly declared his support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
News24 reported that Mnangagwa became the second African leader to openly side with Russia.
Speaking on the sidelines of the two-day Russia-Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum in St Petersburg, Mnangagwa said:
Zimbabwe is in solidarity with the Russian Federation in your country’s special military operation in Ukraine.
Most African African countries mostly abstain from United Nations resolutions on the matter. Only Eritrea voted in support of the invasion.
Zimbabwean political commentator Alexander Rusero opined that Mnangagwa’s remarks could have dire consequences for his re-engagement efforts. Said Rusero:
The implications are a contradiction to his effort on re-engagement and appeasement of the West.
They are also not thought out against the realities of a state that wants to be taken seriously on sanctions claims.
Russia is a strong patron but nowhere near as in a position to bail out a country undergoing a veritable economic meltdown as Zimbabwe.
Meanwhile, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin gave Mnangagwa a helicopter and 50 000 tonnes of grain free of charge.
Putin announced that Zimbabwe will be among the African countries that will receive grain from Russia, free of charge.
Source Pindula News
