Zimbabwe Acts to Mend Rift With Soviets
HARARE, Zimbabwe — Zimbabwe ended five years of uneasy relations with the Soviet Union Friday, appointing Foreign Affairs Ministry official Oswald Ndanga as ambassador to Moscow.
When Zimbabwe gained independence in 1980, relations between the governments were strained because Moscow had favored opposition leader Joshua Nkomo during the seven-year war for independence between 1972 and 1979.
Moscow appointed an ambassador to Zimbabwe soon after independence but Prime Minister Robert Mugabe delayed a return move until the Soviets cut all links with Nkomo and his minority Zimbabwe African Peoples Union Party.
Another foreign affairs official, Stan Mudenge, Friday was named Zimbabwe’s permanent representative at the United Nations.
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