Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe has accused Britain of refusing dialogue with its former colony, and said he expects ties to improve after Prime Minister Tony Blair steps down later in 2007, state media said on Saturday.They said that Mugabe, who had been at odds with Britain since he ordered the seizure of white-owned farms in 2000, had asked former Tanzanian president Benjamin Mkapa to try to broker talks with Britain in a bid to resolve their differences. But in an interview with Harare's official Herald newspaper on Saturday, Mugabe said he had asked Mkapa to step down because the task was "insurmountable".
"The Blair government is a queer government, and Blair behaves like a headmaster, old fashioned, who dictates that things must be done his way: 'Do it or you ... remain punished and an outcast,'" the newspaper quoted Mugabe as saying. "But we are hoping that with the departure of Blair, there will be a better situation there and they can be talked to," he added.