Russian President Vladimir Putin has sharply criticized the Trump administration’s fuel blockade on Cuba, saying Moscow considers the latest restrictions unacceptable.
His comments come as the island nation grapples with a worsening economic crisis, one that has been compared to its biggest test since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
“This is a special period, with new sanctions. You know how we feel about this. We do not accept anything like this,” Putin said on Wednesday during a meeting with Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, according to Russian news agency Tass.
Russia, which has been allied to Cuba for decades, has recently described Havana’s fuel situation as “truly critical” and said it is actively discussing what help it can provide to the country.
“We have always been on Cuba’s side in its struggle for independence, for the right to follow its own path of development, and we have always supported the Cuban people,” Putin said.
“We know how difficult these past decades have been for the Cuban people as they have fought for the right to live by their own rules and defend their national interests,” he added.
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The U.S. has effectively cut Cuba off from Venezuelan oil since launching an extraordinary military operation to depose Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro on Jan. 3. Cuba said 32 of its citizens were killed in the attack.
U.S. President Donald Trump has since pledged to impose tariffs on any country that supplies Havana with oil and labeled its government as “an unusual and extraordinary threat.”
Cuba’s dwindling oil supplies prompted the United Nations to warn of a possible humanitarian “collapse” earlier in the month.
‘Very dramatic changes’
Cuba’s government, which has condemned the U.S. pressure, has recently adopted measures to protect essential services and ration fuel supplies for key sectors.
It also suspended an annual cigar festival which had been due to take place in Havana later this month, without providing details of a new date.
Photos of daily life in Cuba have shown piles of waste building on Havana’s street corners in recent days as many collection trucks have been left with empty fuel tanks.
The White House has said it was in Cuba’s interest to make big changes soon, although stopped short of calling for a change of government.
“They are a regime that is falling. Their country is collapsing and that’s why we believe it’s in their best interest to make very dramatic changes very soon,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Wednesday.
Source: CNBC