Zim 'ready' for EU summit
29/11/2007 21:09  - (SA)  

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Harare - The Zimbabwean government is ready to deliver a stout defence of its record if it comes under attack by its western critics at next month's EU-Africa summit in Lisbon, the foreign minister said on Thursday.

"In the event that any participant tries to attack Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe is more than capable of defending itself," Foreign Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi told journalists after a meeting with African diplomats in the capital.

"Zimbabwe has an excellent case to present, so if there are any attempts to attack Zimbabwe that will be a wonderful opportunity for Zimbabwe to present its case."

Relations in Europe plummeted

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, usually the target of a travel ban by the European Union, is due to attend the summit in Portugal on December 8 and 9 in spite of a British-led campaign for him to be excluded.

Mugabe's relations with his former allies in Europe plummeted after he embarked on a controversial programme to seize white-owned farms at the turn of the decade and he was slapped with a raft of sanctions after he allegedly rigged his 2002 re-election.

Although the EU has agreed to let Mugabe attend the summit, leaders such as German Chancellor Angela Merkel have vowed not to stay silent on the situation in Zimbabwe where annual inflation is running at nearly 8 000%.

Mumbengegwi, who will accompany Mugabe to Portugal, said the summit should focus on issues that have impacted on both continents rather than on individual countries.

Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said he will boycott the summit if Mugabe is present.

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