Zimbabwea’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa has asked for military support from Russia to protect his country from Zambia, which he claims is being backed by the United States of America and other Western countries.
On Thursday, June 6, President Mnangagwa conferred with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the 27th International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg. The two leaders discussed strengthening relations between their nations.
During the meeting, President Mnangagwa said Zambia had emerged as a security threat to his nation, claiming that America and other Western countries had been strengthening their power in the neighboring country.
“The West has just started consolidating their power in Zambia, our next neighbor. You know there was a time when Zambia and Zimbabwe were one and it was Rhodesia then called Northern and Southern Rhodesia, when it was owned by the British but we are now separate and the Americans are now consolidating their power in that country both in terms of security and in terms financial support to Zambia to make sure that we feel lonely,” the Zimbabwean leader told President Putin.
President Mnangagwa’s statement comes barely eight days after he visited Zambia in Livingstone to attend the 2024 Heads of State Summit where he was warmly received by Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema. The two leaders also held a tete-a-tete before taking photos together.
Zambia and Zimbabwe have enjoyed warm relations since before their respective liberation from British colonial rule 1964 and 1980, with the former having played a major role and contributed significantly to its neighbor’s liberation struggle.
