Russia guarantees Cuba “firm solidarity and support” in “hard times”

O russian Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, Sergei Riabkov, expressed “firm solidarity and support” to Cuba in “so difficult times,” Moscow’s diplomacy said.

Riabkov also reaffirmed Moscow’s “position of principle” on the “inadmissibility of exerting economic and military pressure on Cuba”, in a telephone conversation with Cuba’s first Deputy Foreign Minister, Gerardo Peñalver, on Friday.

According to a statement by the Russian Chancellor, published on the website of the Russian embassy in Havana, the Deputy Minister expressed “the need to put an end, without delay, to the commercial, financial and fuel blockade imposed by the US on the island.”.

Riabkov also expressed Moscow’s readiness to “continue offering Havana the necessary political and financial assistance”.

During the conversation, “current issues related to bilateral cooperation were also addressed,” the statement added.

Two days ago, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitri Chernyshenko said that trade with Cuba increased by approximately one third between January and August 2026 during a business forum held at the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Moscow.

Russia has been a political ally of Cuba since the Cold War and one of the island's main trading partners. Both sides have highlighted ties as a “strategic partnership” and advocated raising the level of economic relations in political relations.

Since January, following the military intervention in Venezuela, the US Administration has strengthened pressure on the Cuban Government, demanding political and economic reforms, with an oil encirclement and a series of additional sanctions, which have exacerbated the economic and energy crisis in the country.

On Friday, Cuba’s president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, said that the island is preparing for possible US military aggression in the face of the high tension between the two countries, one of the worst in decades.

“ We have the decision to reject any attempt at foreign military aggression against our country, and for this we are preparing ourselves and, every day, with this system of preparedness for defense, the country is strengthening itself,” said the head of state.

The statement, released by state television, took place during National Defense Day, a day of military preparation that every Friday the Cuban Government has held in the country since the height of tensions with the US.

On Thursday, the President of the United States, Donald Trump, in an interview with the Salem News Channel chain, was asked about the possibility of a military intervention in Cuba, and replied that he would “consider.”.

In addition, Trump stated that he wants to “resolve the Cuba issue” before leaving the White House in 2029.