Putin says Russia ‘always’ stands by Cuba, slams US sanctions

MOSCOW — Moscow will “always” stand by Cuba, Russian President Vladimir Putin told Havana’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez in Moscow on Wednesday, reiterating support for the Caribbean island struggling against sweeping U.S. sanctions. Rodriguez travelled to traditional ally Russia seeking help as his country reels from a severe fuel crisis, intensified by Washington’s de facto oil blockade. U.S. President Donald Trump cut off key supplies of Venezuelan oil to Cuba after ousting Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro and has threatened sanctions on states that sell oil to Havana. “We have always stood by Cuba in its struggle for independence and the right to follow its own path,” said Putin, receiving Rodriguez in the Kremlin. “It is a special period, with new sanctions. You know how we feel about this. We do not accept anything like this,” the Russian leader added. Moscow did not publicly commit to any concrete pledges of material support. “I would also like to thank the Russian solidarity expressed by the president and the Russian government, by the foreign minister, in a firm and ongoing manner

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