Russia weighs fuel aid for Cuba as Canada offers food support

Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak stated that his government is considering supplying fuel to Cuba in response to the ongoing restrictions on oil resources imposed by the United States.

Wednesday’s statement, reported by the RIA state news agency, comes days after Russia’s deputy foreign minister also said Moscow would provide “material supplies” to Cuba, News.Az reports, citing Al Jazeera.

Until recently, Russia has been among the top suppliers of oil to Cuba along with countries like Mexico and Venezuela.

But Cuba’s fuel supply was disrupted last month, in the wake of a US attack on Venezuela.

On January 3, the US launched a military operation to abduct Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Shortly thereafter, US President Donald Trump announced he would cut off Cuba’s supply of Venezuelan oil and money.

Then, on January 29, he issued an executive order threatening sanctions against any country that provides oil shipments to Cuba.

Countries like Mexico and Russia have been trying to negotiate the fuel blockade, as the United Nations warns of the potential for a humanitarian “collapse” on the island.

Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin slammed Trump’s executive order as “unacceptable” while meeting with Cuban ⁠Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez in Moscow.

Prior to the fuel blockade, Cuba’s economy already struggled under a decades-long US embargo, stretching back to its alliance with the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

Economic and political crises have also spurred unrest and migration. During the COVID-19 pandemic, for instance, the island’s tourism sector cratered, prompting a mass exodus. As many as two million people left, more than 10 percent of its population.

News.Az 

By Ulviyya Salmanli