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The two leaders’ conversation was followed by expanded talks during a working lunch.

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The beginning of Russia-Zimbabwe talks in the restricted format

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr President,

I am delighted to welcome you to Russia.

Our previous meeting also took place here in St Petersburg, at the Russia‒Africa Summit, and we truly appreciate your personal involvement in developing our interstate ties.

Russia‒Zimbabwe relations were established a long time ago when your nation was struggling for independence, and they continue to advance extensively. I was pleased to note that our mutual trade increased severalfold over the past year. However, it is clear that we still have much work to do in diversifying our ties.

We have very good relations in the humanitarian and educational sectors. Currently, 400 young people from your country are studying in Russia, and we increase this quota on a regular basis.

I appreciate your involvement in our joint persistent efforts in the international arena. Our stances on the core issues on the international agenda are quite similar and even coinciding.

I am glad to have this opportunity to meet with you on the sidelines of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum. I am confident that your presence here will serve as a testimony to the African continent’s interest in developing relations with Russia, which is among our priorities.

We have agreed to make efforts to enhance our cooperation, and have also created new interaction formats, such as meetings and consultations between our foreign ministers. We hope that your representative will attend such a meeting that will take place in Sochi this autumn.

Welcome, Mr President.

President of Zimbabwe Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa: Thank you very much, Your Excellency President Putin.

May I, on behalf of the people of Zimbabwe, the government, and indeed on my own behalf, extend my warmest regards to you. I am so happy that you were able to invite me to come here to meet you. This is an opportunity, Your Excellency, that I have been looking forward to, because Zimbabwe and the Russian Federation have excellent relations, and it is critically important that we make them more comprehensive and share the challenges that we are facing.

Commonly, the challenges that you face are the same challenges that we face in Southern Africa, because we are one of the few countries in Southern Africa that is regarded as anti-West, and I feel so humbled that you have extended an invitation for me to come over here. This is an opportunity where we can share the challenges that we face both at the national level and at the international level, because we have relations with Western countries. But most importantly, it is an opportunity to consolidate them, to identify areas where we can pursue cooperation between our two countries and consolidate, and make them more comprehensive between ourselves. There is no need to shy away from each other. I think our pursuit in terms of international relations is the same.

We were disregarded as an isolated island in Southern Africa, but I am anxious that we develop comprehensive relations with the Russian Federation, and I can assure you that I have that determination on my part. And much more so, you yourself, as the President, as well as the Russian Federation, have support in Zimbabwe. You see, we have received support, we received food allocations from yourselves last year, and we have received cooperation in the military and security sector. That alone, as you continue to do so, we continuously become isolated in our region. But we are determined to be ourselves, we are determined to be independent.

We don’t care what other countries say about us, you know, under President Mugabe. And there was this Prime Minister in Britain, and the relations just ended there. And thereafter, most of the British and Americans, they have not looked upon us; they think that we are too inclined to the East. But we have no apologies at all. We feel we have better relations with the people who also respect us, not the persons who look down upon us. So we are very happy to be here. We are anxious to have more comprehensive and concentrated relations between ourselves. Yes, we are a very advanced country; but there is a lot that we can learn from you and there is a lot that will benefit from that relationship. And there is a lot that we can open for the Russian Federation to participate in our economy, especially in the mining sector and agriculture. There is a lot that we can afford for you to participate.

And in that process, the West will run away. You see, the West has just begun consolidating its power in Zambia, our next neighbour. You know, there was a time when Zambia and Zimbabwe were one; it was called Northern and Southern Rhodesia. It was made one by the British, but they are now separate. And the Americans are consolidating their power in that country, both in terms of security and in terms of financial support to Zambia to make sure that we feel lonely. But that will not change us, because we have taken a course as a people that we feel we want to be independent and we will choose our friends ourselves. And besides, we are independent today because most of us in the leadership trained here during our war of liberation. We got our independence because we are supported by yourselves here, and we don’t forget that history, and you don’t forget about us.

So, Mr President, I am happy to be here. If an opportunity avails later on – I mean, we will find time to chat and go into more detail as to which areas we must focus on in terms of supporting each other and in terms of where we feel we need external support, especially in the area of difference in security as well as food security. Those areas we need to be supported in – the mechanisation of agriculture and so on. We cannot go to the West; we have to come here because the West would want to see us down. They support our neighbours, Zambia and Malawi, very heavily. But in spite of that, Zimbabwe’s economic growth is the fastest growing economy in the region, in spite of us being isolated by the Americans.

So, Your Excellency, I am very happy to be here.

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