"I have never felt Havana's unfriendliness towards the United States whenever I talked to Cuban officials. Russia believes Cuba is eager to be energetically engaged in tackling problems facing the world," said Mr. Lavrov.
Mr. Lavrov said Russia believed the policy of imposing embargoes and economic sanctions was inefficient, although it was not ruled out by the United Nations Charter. The UN Security Council can resort to such measures to prevent a peace threat. However, Russia does not think Cuba is posing any threat whatsoever. The Security Council does not think so either. Therefore, Russia has continuously supported Cuba's requests to lift the embargo at the UN. "The sooner the situation surrounding Cuba is brought to normal the better consequences will be for the entire region," said the minister.
The two ministers issued a statement condemning unilateral economic restraint measures, including those of an extraterritorial character, like the Helms-Burton law that runs counter to international law and the UN Charter.
The ministers said the economic, trade and financial blockade of Cuba being exerted by the United States, which was aggravated by more recent measures adopted by the US administration, was unjust. The Cuban foreign minister thanked Russia for supporting relevant UN General Assembly resolutions. Russia reiterated its staunch position on the situation around Cuba, according to the statement.
Cuban leader Fidel Castro has received visiting Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, according to a source in the Russian delegation. The details of their talks have not been reported so far.
