Russia calls for lifting sanctions against Zimbabwe
During a meeting of Russia-Zimbabwe Intergovernmental Commission for Economic, Trading, Scientific and Technical Cooperation, Russian Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Dmitry Kobylkin said that Russia believes that Western sanctions against Zimbabwe hamper the socio-economic development of the country and that Russia calls for them to be removed.
"We strongly support the complete and unconditional lifting of the Western sanctions against Harare, because they hinder the socio-economic development of Zimbabwe," Kobylkin said.
The Minister added that Russia and Zimbabwe will create conditions for the diverse cooperation. Both countries will focus on improving the treaty based of bilateral cooperation.
Zimbabwe and several government officials are subject to political and economic sanctions imposed by the European Union, the United States, Canada, and Australia in response to human rights violations during the rule of Robert Mugabe. Zimbabwe's first President, under military pressure, agreed to resign in November 2017. However, the sanctions have not yet been lifted. In particular, the EU's restrictive measures have been extended until February 2020.