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(TALKZIMBABWE) Welcome to Denmark President Mugabe, says PM Rasmussen

Welcome to Denmark President Mugabe, says PM Rasmussen
Our reporter
Wed, 16 Dec 2009 03:15:00 +0000

PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe arrived in Denmark on Tuesday to attend U.N. climate talks and was welcomed by the Danish Prime Minister.

Denmark's Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen welcomed President Mugabe to the country. He dismissed reporters questions about why the president was allowed into the country when he was on the European Union sanctions list saying UN rules take precedence and the president was in that country on a UN ticket.

Rasmussen said President Mugabe was allowed to attend the Copenhagen climate conference (COP15) because of rules that permit him to attend U.N. meetings, over-riding European Union and United States travel bans. Rasmussen said he would have no trouble welcoming the president to Copenhagen.

"I see no problem in greeting him," Rasmussen told reporters.

"That is the spirit of the U.N. -- that the world needs a place where we can meet ... And I guess that is how you can characterize the person you're asking about," Rasmussen added.

As elder statesman, President Mugabe will likely be seated next to Denmark's Queen Margrethe at a dinner on Thursday for heads of state and government attending the climate conference.

President Mugabe is one of more than 110 world leaders attending the final two days of the UN Conference on Climate Change, dubbed COP15, that is trying to reach a global climate agreement.

Upon arrival, President Mugabe said he expected from the Copenhagen conference "what everybody else hopes to get -- an agreement."

He dismissed reporters' statements that "he felt isolated".

"I am a member of the world population. I am a member of the world. Why should I feel isolated?"

President Mugabe was one of the first heads of states to arrive on Tuesday as did UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, British PM Gordon Brown and South African President Jacob Zuma.

President Mugabe is scheduled to hold discussions with SA President Zuma on the sidelines of COP15 regarding the progress of the inclusive Government.

US - CHINA SHOWDOWN LOOMS OVER TALKS

Meanwhile, a showdown between the world's two largest polluters loomed over the UN climate talks Tuesday as China accused the United States and other rich nations of backsliding on their commitments to fight global warming.

Trying to ease the tension, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said developed and developing countries must "stop pointing fingers" and should increase their pledges to cut greenhouse gas emissions to salvage the faltering talks on a climate pact.

Key issues remain, however, and the conference so far has been marked by sharp disagreements between China and the United States and deep divisions between developed and developing nations.

China and other developing countries are resisting U.S.-led attempts to make their cuts in emissions growth binding and open to international scrutiny rather than voluntary.

Labels: CLIMATE CHANGE, DENMARK, LARS LOKKE RASMUSSEN, MUGABE

posted by MrK @ 6:03 AM