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SA to stick to quite diplomacy

[South Africa] Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma SA Government
South African Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma
    JOHANNESBURG

    The South African government said on Friday it would stick to its Zimbabwe policy of "quite diplomacy", despite recent attacks on press freedom and the judiciary in the country, news reports said.

    "We are not going to be combative with Zimbabwe. But we are going to discuss everything with them," Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma told reporters. "We will continue to build bridges." She added: "We are not going to treat the Zimbabwean government as if it was an illegitimate government or President (Robert) Mugabe as if he was an illegitimate president."

    Dlamini-Zuma was quoted as saying that it would be "unproductive" to criticise Zimbabwe for the government's campaign of violent land invasions because that could worsen the situation. "They are our biggest trading partner. They are our neighbour. We think there is a lot of merit in talking and discussing without condemning," she said.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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