MOSCOW, February 11 (RIA Novosti) - Russia welcomed on Wednesday the appointment of Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai to the post of the country's prime minister.

Tsvangirai, the leader of the country's Movement for Democratic Change, was sworn into office on Wednesday as part of a power-sharing agreement with President Robert Mugabe.

"Moscow welcomes the fact that Morgan Tsvangirai, the head of the leading opposition movement... took the oath," the Russian Foreign Ministry said on its website.

Zimbabwe currently faces record hyperinflation of 231 million percent and 90% unemployment. The extended economic crisis has devastated the healthcare system, leaving the country virtually incapable of dealing with a cholera epidemic that has killed more than 3,500 people.