HARARE, Zimbabwe – Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe says his attempts to engage the West have been rebuffed — making no reference to his recent outburst against Europe and the United States.

Mugabe referred to his strained foreign relationships in a speech Monday, a holiday commemorating Zimbabwe's fallen heroes.

Mugabe says he sought to engage the European Union and the United States to get them to remove sanctions against his regime, but found they kept "shifting goal posts.

On Aug. 1, during a state funeral for his sister, Mugabe told Western nations to "go to hell" after alleging that they interfered in Zimbabwean affairs.

Diplomats from the United States, Germany and the European Union walked out of the funeral.