Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak stated on Wednesday that Russian authorities are exploring a range of mechanisms to provide Cuba with fuel support, amid the energy crisis intensified by the United States pressure on the island.
Moscow.- "Proposals of this kind are on the table and are currently being discussed within the Government," the official told members of the press.
Novak further emphasized that the Russia-Cuba Intergovernmental Commission for Economic Cooperation and Trade is actively coordinating efforts to bring Moscow's assistance to Havana to fruition.
On January 29, President Donald Trump signed an executive order authorizing the imposition of tariffs on imports from countries that supply hydrocarbons to Cuba. That same measure declared a national emergency over what the White House described as a supposed "Cuban threat" to U.S. national security.
Cuban authorities denounced the move, characterizing Trump's "energy blockade" as a deliberate attempt to suffocate the Cuban economy and render living conditions unbearable for the Cuban people.
This latest unilateral action by Washington compounds the broader economic, commercial, and financial embargo that the United States has maintained against Cuba since 1962 —a policy that Havana contends is designed to foment public discontent and provoke a social crisis capable of forcing a change of government.
Last week, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez traveled to Russia on a working visit as a special envoy of the Communist Party of Cuba and the Cuban government. His agenda included a meeting with President Vladimir Putin, whom he thanked for Moscow's sustained solidarity and support.
"Our relations are grounded in a strategic partnership, especially at this moment Cuba is experiencing. We have been working shoulder to shoulder for years. Our joint projects are progressing well and moving forward in the interest of our peoples," said Rodríguez, who also serves as a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of Cuba.
For his part, Putin underscored the special relationship both nations have maintained for decades.
"We have always stood by Cuba in its struggle for independence, for the right to pursue its own path of development, and we have always supported the Cuban people," Putin declared.
The Russian president also acknowledged how difficult it has been for the Caribbean nation to defend more than six decades of sovereignty, noting that Cuba has spent those years "fighting for its right to live according to its own rules and defend its national interests." (CubaSí)
