Russia hopes for constructive cooperation with Zimbabwe

MOSCOW - 23 November 2017: Russia hopes to continue constructive cooperation with Zimbabwe under the new authorities, both in the bilateral format and on the global arena, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova was quoted by TASS as saying on Thursday.

"We hope that our multi-faceted relations and mutually beneficial cooperation with Harare will continue both in the bilateral format and on the global arena," she said.

On Tuesday, Zimbabwe’s 93-year-old President Robert Mugabe announced his resignation after 37 years in power. Last week, Zimbabwe’s top brass put in custody President Robert Mugabe and his family and Finance Minister Ignatius Chombo, blocked the roads leading to the buildings of the government, parliament and courts in Harare and seized the studios of the state television and radio broadcasting corporation. Military officials said that it was not a military coup by all means and their actions were aimed against "criminals" in the president’s entourage.

The country’s ruling party, the Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), sacked Mugabe as its leader and appointed former Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa in his place. Mnangagwa will be sworn as president on November 24.