Russian Foreign Minister thanks Cuba for “full understanding” of the war in Ukraine

the chancellor of Russia, Sergey Lavrovthanked this Thursday in Havana to the Cuban government its “full understanding” of the conflict in Ukraineat the beginning of a visit to the island that closes a tour of Latin America.

“We appreciate that from the very beginning of the special military operation our Cuban friends (…) have clearly stated their position and expressed their full understanding in their assessments of the reasons that led to the current situation”, Lavrov said during a meeting with his Cuban counterpart, bruno rodriguezaccording to the Telegram account of the Moscow Foreign Ministry.

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Lavrov, who also met this Thursday with the president Miguel Diaz-Canel and the leader of the revolution Raul Castrocondemned the “illegal and illegitimate” embargo of USA against Cuba, and said that his country also “has been subject to US sanctions (…) long before current events”.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov meets with Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel and former Cuban President Raúl Castro in Havana on April 20, 2023. (Photo by Handout/Russian Ministry of Exteriors / AFP) (HANDOUT /)

The head of Russian diplomacy arrived in Havana the night before, when the United States illuminated its embassy in this capital, located on the busy boardwalk, with the yellow and blue colors of the flag of Ukraine.

Lavrov, who concludes in Cuba a journey that began on Monday in Brazil and which later led him to Venezuela and Nicaraguaexplained that with Díaz-Canel he reviewed bilateral cooperation in the area of ​​trade and investment.

“Many advances”

Since the Cuban president visited Russia last november”there were many advances, especially in terms of fuel and food supply” to the island, Lavrov specified in a press conference with Russian and national journalists that the Russian Foreign Ministry disclosed on Twitter.

Díaz-Canel, whose country is facing the worst economic crisis in 30 years, with severe shortages of food, medicine and fuel, then made an international tour that also included Algeria, Türkiye and China. At the end of that trip, he said that he had signed several oil supply agreements with Russia and Algeria.

However, the fuel shortage continues on the island. Last week the president declared that the lack of fuel is due to the fact that the countries that provide crude oil to Cuba also face “a complex energy situation” and they have not fulfilled their commitments.

Along these lines, Lavrov pointed out that “Decisions are being executed that make it possible to reliably secure the projects of the two countries (…) against the illegal sanctions of the West”.

Cuba is subject to an economic embargo of Washington for more than 60 years, hardened by donald trump when he came to power in 2017, without his successor Joe Biden has reversed these measures, while Moscow was sanctioned by the United States, Canada and the European Union since it invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

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For his part, Rodriguezrejected sanctions against Russia, a trend that significantly aggravates the current situation”, according to a statement from the meeting released by the Cuban Foreign Ministry.

He also stressed that the expansion of the NATO is “the main cause of the conflict in Europe” and “advocated for a serious, constructive and realistic diplomatic solution to the current crisis, which guarantees security, peace and regional and international stability”.

The Díaz-Canel government has maintained a neutral position in the face of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with repeated calls to find a negotiated solution to the conflict.

Source: Elcomercio