Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe Thursday said his country would have better relations with London if the Conservatives win the next elections.

"We have always related better with the British through the Conservatives than Labour," Mugabe told journalists.

"Conservatives are bold, (Tony) Blair and (Gordon) Brown run away when they see me, but not these fools, they know how to relate to others," he added.

Mugabe's rant comes after Prime Minister Gordon Brown told South Africa's Jacob Zuma in London that Zimbabwe's targeted sanctions would not be lifted until progress was seen in the power-sharing government.

Zuma, who is the mediator in Zimbabwe's fragile unity accord, wants the sanctions lifted.

"We have a better chance with (British Conservative leader) David Cameron than with Brown," said Mugabe.

Relations between Zimbabwe and London have been strained over the past ten years, after Mugabe's government started seizing white-owned farms, under his controversial land reform laws.

In 2002, British former prime minister Tony Blair's government imposed targeted sanctions on Mugabe and his inner circle -- including a travel ban and freezing of bank accounts -- following allegations of a rigged election.

"Blair is a downright liar, utterly dishonest, hypocritical," the veteran leader said.