Vladimir Putin fawned over Robert Mugabe following the death of Mugabe who oppressed his people for decades.
Zimbabwe’s former president, 95, died in Singapore, where he had been receiving medical care for months, on Friday morning – almost two years after he was ousted in a military coup.
His death was celebrated in the streets of Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe.
Many foreign governments overlooked the murder, corruption, human rights abuses, persecution of political opponents, famine and vote-rigging that dominated his reign of terror.
The Russian president, who wants to set up a strategic military base in the African country, was among those who heaped praise on his old ally.
Putin said in a statement: “Many important events in contemporary history of Zimbabwe are linked with the name of Robert Mugabe.
“He made a major personal contribution to the struggle for your country’s independence and to building institutions of Zimbabwean statehood.
“The people of Russia will remember him as a consistent advocate of developing friendly relations between our countries and a person who had accomplished a great deal to strengthen mutually beneficial bilateral co-operation.”
China offered a similar statement that will likely outrage those who suffered under Mugabe’s iron-fisted rule.
