Post #28177

🎙 Russia's Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova's answer to a media question regarding US administration’s measures against Cuba(January 31, 2026) ❓ Question: On January 29, the United States issued an executive order declaring a “state of emergency” in connection with the policies and actions of Cuba’s leadership, which were described as posing an “extraordinary threat” to US national security and foreign policy interests. What is the Russian Foreign Ministry’s assessment of this document? 💬Maria Zakharova: This move represents yet another, and particularly radical, return by Washington to its long-standing strategy of applying maximum pressure on the Island of Freedom, aimed at economically strangling the country. Russia’s stance on this issue remains unchanged. We view unilateral sanctions imposed against sovereign and independent states, in violation of the UN Charter and other norms of international law, as absolutely unacceptable. We strongly condemn the illegitimate restrictive measures against Havana, as well as the pressure being exerted on Cuba’s leadership and its citizens. We are confident that, despite the external obstacles to its advancement, Cuba will continue to maintain effective foreign economic relations. It is particularly striking that this new document aimed against Cuba categorises Russia, along with several other equal foreign partners of Havana, as “hostile” and “malign” states. Such labelling in no way contributes to normalising the Russia-US dialogue or improving the effectiveness of Washington’s stated mediation efforts to resolve crises in various regions across the globe. We cannot accept attempts to create barriers to international cooperation, especially with a country facing a challenging socioeconomic situation that is largely the result of nearly seven decades of the US trade, economic, and financial embargo. 🤝Russia and Cuba share special historical ties. The traditions of our comprehensive cooperation are deeply rooted and enjoy extensive socio-political support in both states – and, as we have emphasised on numerous occasions, this cooperation is not directed against third parties and cannot be regarded as harmful to anyone’s interests. We remain firmly committed to consistently developing this cooperation for the benefit of our nations and to enhancing international security and stability.