Havana: Sergey Lavrov, the foreign minister of Russia, denounced US sanctions against Cuba on Thursday as he visited the nation as part of a tour of Latin America that also included Brazil, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.
Before meeting with Bruno Rodrguez, Lavrov participated in a wreath-laying ceremony at a memorial in Havana for José Marti, a hero of Cuban independence.
Lavrov criticised the American economic sanctions against Cuba during his visit to the island nation, which for many years had been a steadfast ally of Moscow, and accused the US of trying to impose "its will on the world," according to a report on the state-run Cubadebate website.
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For his part, Rodriguez opposed NATO's "expansionist aspirations" and the sanctions put in place against Russia. President Miguel Dáz-Canel, who was recently reelected, and Lavrov were scheduled to meet later today.
Since joining the socialist bloc headed by the Soviet Union in the 1960s, Cuba has had a close relationship with Moscow. In exchange for sugar, Cuba receives many essential imports, including fertilisers, machinery, spare parts, and, most importantly, oil.
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Russia is one of the few oil suppliers to Cuba, which also receives oil from Venezuela and sends an unknown quantity to the island, which is experiencing a severe energy crisis.
Additionally, two weeks ago Cuban banks began to accept payments made with MIR cards, a Russian payment system that enables visitors from that country to withdraw cash and exchange rubles for Cuban pesos.
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The state-owned Russian National Card Payment System, which issues MIR cards, also operates in Turkiye and Vietnam, two of Russia's partner nations.