Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has condemned US pressure on Cuba and confirmed Moscow’s full solidarity with Havana.
“Cuba continues to be subjected to brutal economic pressure from the United States,” the spokeswoman denounced this Thursday, and reaffirmed Russia’s “full solidarity” with Cuba and “a strong condemnation of any attempt at blatant interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign nation, intimidation, illegal unilateral restrictive measures, threats, and blackmail.”
Maria Zakharova asserted that the restrictions imposed in early May of this year on companies that cooperate with Cuba constitute another primary objective of the United States: the economic strangulation of the Caribbean nation.
The attempts to economically strangle Cuba demonstrate that the United States has zero tolerance for dissent, Zakharova stated.
“That the White House administration is trying to tighten the noose of sanctions against Cuba, after long years of a commercial, economic, financial, and humanitarian embargo, to which the energy blockade has recently been added, is a clear reflection of Washington’s intolerance toward any dissent,” the diplomat pointed out.
For his part, the Russian Federation’s ambassador to Havana, Victor Koronelli, noted that Cuba has ample experience in fighting armed aggression.
“Havana has repeatedly expressed its readiness to repel such aggression. Our Cuban friends have long-standing experience in this,” the diplomat commented.
On Wednesday, U.S. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche confirmed the indictment against former 94-year-old Cuban leader Raúl Castro for conspiracy to murder U.S. citizens in connection with the 1996 downing of two Brothers to the Rescue planes.
In a separate statement, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that Raúl Castro and five other officials face the maximum penalty of death or life imprisonment if convicted on the newly filed indictment. Cuban President Miguel DÃaz-Canel reacted to the news on social media, stating that the indictment against his predecessor lacked legal basis and sought to justify a potential U.S. military attack against his country.
[ SOURCE: PRENSA LATINA ]
