Russia Donates Fertilizer, Grain To Zimbabwe
On Wednesday, March 20, President Emmerson Mnangagwa accepted a generous donation of 25,000 tonnes of grain and 23,000 tonnes of fertilizer from Russia to assist Zimbabwe during the El Nino-induced drought.
Mnangagwa emphasized that this donation would play a crucial role in mitigating the impact of the El Nino-induced drought that Zimbabwe is currently facing.
Additionally, he acknowledged the long-standing economic challenges exacerbated by targeted sanctions, which the government has consistently attributed to the country’s difficulties. Mnangagwa said:
Zimbabwe and the Russian Federation continue to be subjected to the heinous and illegal sanctions imposed by the hegemonic powers of the West.
Throughout the 23 years of sanctions against Zimbabwe, the Russian Federation has been a true, trusted and dependable ally of the people of this country.
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Mnangagwa added that it should be no surprise that two countries who are the subject of sanctions talk to each other and try to work together.
Western countries imposed travel and financial sanctions restrictions on Zimbabwe’s leadership and affiliated companies in the early 2000s for alleged election rigging and human rights abuses.
In 2022, Western countries imposed sanctions on Russia and its president Vladimir Putin following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
On Wednesday, Russia’s ambassador to Harare, Nikolai Krasilnikov, said the donated fertilizers would aid Zimbabwe’s agricultural production. Said Krasilnikov:
It is a commitment made by Russia to continue to support states and regions in need to do their utmost to prevent a global food crisis through participation in establishing a more equitable system for the distribution of resources.
And let us not forget that food security cannot [be achieved] without fertilizers, as they ensure growth, resilience and productivity of crops.
However, the fertilisers may have come too late for Zimbabwe’s current growing season, as most crops have been dried out by a lack of rain.
In an interview with VOA, Alexander Rusero, an international relations professor at Africa University, said he was not surprised by Russia’s donations to Zimbabwe. Said Rusero:
Zimbabwe does not have an ambivalent foreign policy with regards to Russia. Its position in terms of its interaction with Russia [is] very clear. Zimbabwe is on the side of Russia at whatever cost so it is not surprising.
I wouldn’t know why it looks like a surprise that Zimbabwe has received some gift from Russia. And remember, these are fulfillments of pledges already made some time ago.
Zimbabwe-Russia relations date back to the mid-1960s, during Zimbabwe’s war of independence when the then Soviet Union supported Joshua Nkomo’s Zimbabwe African People’s Union (ZAPU) by supplying them with arms.
However, Robert Mugabe’s attempts to gain Soviet support for his Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) were rebuffed. Instead, he turned to Soviet rival China for diplomatic ties.
Throughout the 1980s, Zimbabwean relations with the USSR were notably cold as Mugabe resisted establishing formal relations with the Soviets, even as he engaged with other countries like the United Kingdom and the United States.
However, since the 2000s, Mugabe strengthened relations with both Beijing and Russia (the Soviet Union’s successor) due to intense Western pressure.
Zimbabwe was one of the few countries that voted with Russia on the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 68/262 regarding the annexation of Crimea.
Both Russia and China vetoed a UN resolution imposing sanctions on Zimbabwe in 2008, which was proposed by the US and the UK.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) sent a mission to Moscow to observe the Russian elections this week in which Putin won another six-year term.
At a press conference in Moscow, commission chair Justice Priscilla Makanyara Chigumba declared the elections to be credible.
More: Pindula News
