Ryabkov: Russia Will Not Abandon Cuba Under US Pressure
Russia has no plans to abandon Cuba and wants to help it cope with an energy crisis that Moscow says is exacerbated by the US embargo, according to Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov.
After talks in Havana, he said cooperation would not be limited to the recent oil shipment but would continue through additional steps, although their concrete form is not yet known.
Ryabkov also said Russia will not give up its interests in the Western Hemisphere regardless of pressure from the United States. Washington, he added, is seeking to push Russia and China out of the region.
Moscow is trying to restore influence in Cuba that it had during the Soviet era. A recent shipment of about 700,000 barrels of oil was the first major delivery after the US cut off supplies, allowing imports of Russian oil only on humanitarian grounds.