Talks between Zimbabwe and the European Union aimed at ending sanctions and normalising relations are off and the committee that was set up by Zimbabwe for that task has been disbanded. Secretary for Foreign Affairs Joey Bimha said today: “We only engaged the EU during the time of the inclusive government. After holding elections that were recognised by the United Nations, the African Union and the majority of the international community, we no longer have that re-engagement structure that we used to have during the time of the inclusive government. The EU has to remove the sanctions because they are illegal in the first place. Why should we engage them? The ball is in their court.” The EU imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe more than a decade ago but has lifted most of the measures leaving only 10 individuals including President Robert Mugabe and his wife Grace and one company, the Zimbabwe Defence Industries.
The EU normally reviews its sanctions on Zimbabwe in February, which is just weeks away.
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