HAVANA (Sputnik) – The United States must reimburse Cuba for the losses that the country sustained due to the 1960 trade embargo, the speaker of Russia's lower house of parliament has said.
Washington imposed the trade embargo on Cuba after Havana nationalized over $1 billion worth of US assets on the island. A delegation of Russian lawmakers arrived in Cuba on Monday to commemorate the 55th anniversary of the reestablishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
"We think that the United States should compensate Cuba for the losses that it suffered from for several decades as a result of the economic embargo," Sergei Naryshkin said Tuesday.
Speaking at a meeting with Esteban Hernandez, president of Cuba's National Assembly of People's Power, Naryshkin posited Moscow's stance on the embargo as "grossly violating the norms of international law and World Trade Organization rules."
The embargo costs the US economy approximately $1.2 billion annually in lost sales and exports, according to the United States Chamber of Commerce. The Cuban government states that the embargo costs the island itself $685 million per year.
A thaw in US-Cuba relations began in December 2014 after President Barack Obama announced that the United States would seek to normalize relations with Cuba, including the restoration of diplomatic relations, as well as the lifting of trade and visa restrictions.
Relations between the two countries have been strained due to Cold War antagonism between Washington and the Communist government in Havana.
