Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has defended his decision to enter into a power-sharing deal with President Robert Mugabe, saying they would succeed or fail together, The Herald reported on Monday.

"Those who accept me have to accept Robert Mugabe. If there is a problem, we go and fail together," Tsvangirai was quoted as saying.

Tsvangirai said this when speaking to reporters in Johannesburg, South Africa on Saturday following a three-week tour to the United States and Europe.

Tsvangirai said his tour to drum up support for the "new" Zimbabwe was a success despite criticism from Western leaders of alleged continued human rights abuses, insisting that political and economic reforms are gathering pace.

He said the reforms are not stopping and is happy with the pace.

It has to take into consideration the local realities, the sensitivities, the prime minister said.

Zimbabwe's inclusive Government was formed on February 11 and tasked with steering Zimbabwe back to stability after elections which the opposition Democratic Movement for Change (MDC) led by Tsvangirai disputed.

Zimbabwe has appealed for 8,3 billion U.S. dollars to rebuild the economy. Tsvangirai's trip raised slightly above 200 million U.S. dollars to be channeled through the nongovernmental organizations.

Tsvangirai insisted during his overseas trip that President Mugabe's presence in power should not deter foreign governments from helping the country.

He listed reforms in the Constitution, security sector, central bank and investment laws as examples.

Source: Xinhua