Moscow - The sharp depreciation of Zimbabwe's national currency is a direct result of restrictive measures imposed on the country by the European Union and the United States, Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who is currently on his official visit to Russia, told Sputnik on Tuesday.
Since the 2000s, Zimbabwe has been under sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union over violations of human rights and democratic norms under the presidency of former leader Robert Mugabe.
The restrictions had resulted in a collapse of foreign loans and investments in the economy of the African nation.
The prolonged economic crisis in the country caused the country's authorities to use the US dollar instead of its national currency.
"I am sure you are aware that as a result of the sanctions imposed on us, those sanctions were able to collapse our own currency," Mnangagwa stated.
* Read more #ZimbabweShutDown stories
.
** Receive IOL's top stories via Whatsapp by sending your name to 0745573535.