Europe and the United States have taken a "wait-and-see" approach to Zimbabwe's power-sharing pact, suggesting they will lift sanctions and provide aid only when they see evidence of its implementation.
European Union (EU) foreign ministers, meeting in Brussels on Monday, said in a statement that as "the leading donor to Zimbabwe," the EU was ready to adopt "a set of economic support measures." But they made clear the support would go only to "a transitional government taking… steps to restore democracy and the rule of law in Zimbabwe, particularly by organising transparent multiparty elections and promoting the economic rehabilitation of the country."
The foreign ministers also said the EU would be monitoring how the agreement was implemented. As part of its implementation, "all forms of intimidation and violence" had to end immediately. They will review the situation at their next monthly meeting in October.
The British Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, whose government has been called upon by Zimbabwean parties to pay farmers whose land was seized in President Robert Mugabe's land reform programme, said Britain would be quick to support the new Zimbabwean government if it began to rebuild the country.
"What matters now," he added, "is not just the words in the agreement, but the way it functions and the actions the new government takes on the ground. We hope that… [it] will now reverse the tragic policies and decline of recent years.
The BBC reports that Jendayi Frazer, the most senior United States diplomat for Africa, said the administration of President George W. Bush wants to help Zimbabwe but needs to see proof that Mugabe had ceded some power to Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.
U.S. State Department spokesperson Sean McCormack told journalists in Washington on Monday that the U.S. had received "some briefings" on the power-sharing agreement "and from what we have learned from the MDC [Movement for Democratic Change] briefing us on the detail… we would welcome this agreement… with the caveat that we haven't yet seen the full agreement."
He added: "It is our hope for Zimbabwe and the Zimbabwean people that they… can now move forward, that… the agreement… can be fully implemented, and that the agreement be implemented in such a way that it reflects the will of the people, as expressed in the recent election…. We'll see how it's implemented."
