Zimbabwe’s neighbours should prepare to close their borders and squeeze President Robert Mugabe into submission if he continues to block efforts to end the country’s political crisis, Botswana’s foreign minister said on Thursday.

In the strongest words yet to come from the region, Phandu Skelemani called in an interview with the Financial Times for greater international pressure on the 16 member Southern African Development Community (SADC) to take tougher action against Mr Mugabe.