According to a US official quoted by Washington Post columnist Michael Gerson, Mbeki slammed the US -Â in a text packed with exclamation points – for taking sides against President Robert Mugabe and disrespecting the views of the Zimbabwean people.
He said it was not our business, Gerson quotes the unnamed official as saying, and to butt out, that Africa belongs to him.
He quotes another official as saying: Mbeki lost it; it was outrageous.
Mbeki’s spokesman, Mukoni Ratshitanga, said he had no knowledge of Mbeki’s letter to Bush. However, an official of the US embassy in Pretoria confirmed that Bush had received the letter.
He disagreed with some of the points in the letter. We feel we have an important role to play in bringing peace and security to the region and in helping to ensure free and transparent elections in Zimbabwe. The White House is working on a response, said the official.
Post published in: News