via US denies threatening new Zim sanctions 06 October 2014
THE United States has refuted media reports claiming Washington threatened to impose new sanctions on Zimbabwe over the country’s economic relations with Russia.
The government last month inked a $3 billion deal with Russia to establish what would be Zimbabwe’s largest platinum mine when fully operational in 2014.
The US has recently imposed sanctions on Russia for allegedly providing military backing to Ukrainian separatists and generally destabilising the region.
State media at the weekend claimed that Washington was trying to sabotage the platinum deal and threatened to tighten sanctions imposed in 2003 over allegations of rights abuses and electoral fraud.
An unidentified official with the foreign affairs ministry reportedly told the Sunday Mail: “The communication on the subject was, indeed, received at the end of last week.
“There was a thinly veiled threat to the effect that, ‘You will also be putting yourselves under sanctions if you deal with Russia and its companies’.
“The Americans list the Russian companies on sanctions and also say these sanctions will only be lifted if Russia ‘co-operates’ on Ukraine.”
Embassy spokesperson, Karen Kelley, said there is no link between sanctions Washington imposed on Russia and those the country placed on President Robert Mugabe and his cronies more than a decade ago.
“Regarding the recent reports in the local media in Zimbabwe, I can say that there is no link between U.S. sanctions on Russia and the targeted sanctions policy on a limited number of individuals and entities in Zimbabwe.
“All U.S. sanctions frameworks are separate and distinct,” Kelly responded to NewZimbabwe.com in an email Monday.
“Due to Russia’s escalated, direct military intervention and continuing efforts to destabilize Ukraine, the Departments of Treasury and Commerce announced they imposed additional sanctions and deepened existing sanctions on Russia,” she said.
“We have also said if Russia fully implements the 12 requirements of the September 5th Minsk agreement, these latest sanctions can and will be rolled back.”
COMMENTS
Seriously why would US slap Zimbabwe with sanctions over a USD3 billion project with Russia when China signed a USD 40 billion agreement. The government suffers from delusion they realise that the US is not worried about their Chinese and Russian deals so they are trying to bring traction to them. The sanctions under which Russia is under are directed sanctions meaning some of the industries are still trading with the US and as far as I know they pertain to American companies and individuals. The EU have also imposed their selected sanctions which though aligned to the US are not an exact match.
No doubt someone in the ruling Party trying too hard to insert themselves in a position of relavance in the Grand Scheme of Super World Powers.
Kind of reminds me of that proverb depicting a worm which lives in cow dung in a cattle kraal. It decides to grow “HORNS” and starts believing in its tiny head that it is in fact a cow and has same if not a more important status as the bulls in the kraal and is therefore a force to be reckoned with.
Such are the delusions of ZPF about its own importance and indispensibility.
If they stopped thinking like this they might be able to start seeing things more clearly.