China, Russia poised to block UN sanctions on Zimbabwe

China, Russia poised to block UN sanctions on Zimbabwe

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THE United States’ efforts at the U.N. to punish Zimbabwe for its widely discredited presidential election may stall in the Security Council.

China, which is one of Zimbabwe's chief allies and trading partners, has told Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that it favours negotiations. Russia, which like China also has veto power, says it feels Zimbabwe's election is an "internal matter".

President Bush wants the U.N. Security Council to slap an arms embargo on Zimbabwe along with travel bans on its government officials. He says President Robert Mugabe leads an "illegitimate government" that retained power only through a "sham" election.

The White House says the U.S. already has financial and travel penalties against more than 170 citizens and entities with ties to Mugabe.

Rice raised the issue during talks in Beijing on Sunday, the same day President Robert Mugabe was declared winner of last Friday’s widely condemned presidential run-off election.

However, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi says the immediate need in Zimbabwe is for stability.

He also called for renewed dialogue between Mugabe and his opponents and said China would try to help that process.

China, a major trading partner of Zimbabwe, is a member of the UN Security Council and can veto any sanctions the council proposes.

Rice has said the U.S. plans to introduce a resolution in the council this coming week. The United States holds the council's presidency until July 1, but appears to face an uphill battle in getting several important members to agree to any penalties.

She said that conditions in Zimbabwe had "deteriorated to a grave level" and that "the sham election there is likely to bring more violence."

"We believe that it's time for the international community to act more strongly," Rice said. "Frankly, it makes sense to deny the government of Zimbabwe the means to use violence against its own people."

At present, there is no international arms embargo against Zimbabwe. China is one of its main suppliers of weapons and ammunition, although Yang said a recent shipment had been returned "at the request of the receiving party."

That shipment made headlines this spring when some African countries refused to allow the freighter to dock at their ports, partly at the urging of the United States and others. - AP
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