Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla at the Kremlin’s Senate Palace on Wednesday, delivering strong criticism of recent U.S. sanctions against the Caribbean nation. During the high-level diplomatic encounter, Putin characterized the newly imposed restrictions as “unacceptable” while reaffirming Moscow’s commitment to supporting Havana.
The meeting between the Russian leader and Cuba’s top diplomat occurred against the backdrop of escalating tensions between Washington and Havana. Russian state news agency TASS reported Putin’s explicit condemnation of the American measures, with the president stating: “This is a special period, new sanctions. You know how we think about this. We do not accept such things.”
President Putin further emphasized the positive development of bilateral relations between Russia and Cuba, signaling continued cooperation between the two nations. The discussions built upon previous commitments made by senior Russian diplomats who pledged material assistance to help Cuba counter U.S. efforts to restrict the island’s oil supplies.
In parallel diplomatic engagements, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held separate talks with his Cuban counterpart, urging the United States to avoid implementing a full naval blockade against Cuba. Instead, Lavrov advocated for diplomatic negotiations as the preferred approach to resolving tensions.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov clarified that Moscow had not discussed the Cuba matter with Washington, despite the conclusion of trilateral peace talks involving Russia, Ukraine, and the United States earlier that same day in Geneva. This positioning highlights Russia’s deliberate separation of the Cuba issue from other international negotiations.