Leaders of southern African nations have urged the international community to lift all sanctions on Zimbabwe so that the country's power-sharing agreement can be implemented smoothly.
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) said at the end of a regional meeting on Tuesday that the sanctions may impede efforts to improve Zimbabwe's political situation.
Joseph Kabila, the Congolese president, said in the final communique that there was progress in the implementation of Zimbabwe's political accord but its completion could be hampered by continuing sanctions.
"Considering the positive evolution of the situation, considering the progress that has been made, we believe it is now high time that the sanctions are lifted," said Kabila, who took over as chairman of SADC during the summit in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe's president, and long-time foe Morgan Tsvangirai, the prime minister, agreed to share power in February as part of a deal backed by the SADC to end a political crisis that followed disputed polls last year.
But the accord has been beset with problems.
Political solution
Jacob Zuma, the South African president, had kicked off the regional meeting on Monday by asking Zimbabwe's leaders to end the row over their power-sharing pact that is holding up vital foreign aid to its battered economy.
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| A push by Morgan Tsvangirai, left, for pressure on Mugabe failed to gain traction [Reuters] |
Tsvangirai who attended the two-day meeting called on the regional leaders to press Mugabe to fully implement the power-sharing agreement.
On Monday, his spokesman announced that SADC leaders were in favour of calling an extraordinary summit to deal with key sticking points that have slowed implementation of the deal.
But on Tuesday the regional leaders backed away from the possibility of special talks and placed no conditions on Mugabe in exchange for the call to remove sanctions, which include travel bans and asset freezes against Mugabe and his inner circle.
"There was no reason for us to attach conditions to the calling of the countries that have applied sanctions to lift sanctions," Zuma, the SADC's outgoing chairman, told reporters.
A recovery in Zimbabwe's battered economy is important for South Africa because millions of Zimbabweans have been driven to seek work in their much wealthier neighbour.
Following the SADC's final statement, George Charamba, Mugabe's press secretary, said the international community was hurting the regional body by continuing to impose "unjustified and illegal" sanctions on Zimbabwe.
"Please, do us a favour, remove them," he said.