MIAMI, United States.- While the regime in Havana talks in Washington about the migratory crisis that has the region in suspense, the Russian government donated almost 20,000 tons of wheat to Cuba, its political ally, a gift that seeks to alleviate the prices of grains and cereals worldwide after the invasion of Ukraine.
According to a note from the news agency Reutersdated this Thursday in Havana, the Russian ambassador to Cuba, Andrei Guskov, said in a ceremony that the government of his country had agreed last year to send that donation to the island.
The diplomat added that the ship carrying the wheat had been detained off the island for a month due to Western sanctions imposed on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine.
Guskov said banking-related restrictions had complicated payments from Russia to the carrier, making it impossible for the ship to unload the cargo.
“What happened clearly shows that the unilateral and coercive measures taken against Russia, like those applied against Cuba, harmed the lives of ordinary people,” Guskov added to reporters.
Cuba has been since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, last february 24, one of his main allies and defenders. Shortly thereafter he called for preserving the peace in a slightly more nuanced stance.
However, on April 7, it joined China, North Korea, Iran, Syria, Vietnam, and voted against a resolution adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that suspended Russia from the Human Rights Council for reports revealing abuses and war crimes in Ukraine.
Cuba and Russia have a long history of economic and military collaboration dating back to the late dictator Fidel Castro’s revolution in 1959. Although those ties had faded in the past decades, recent months have been critical for closer ties again.
Days before invading Ukraine, Russia agreed to postpone payments on Cuba’s debt to the Kremlin until 2027. The two governments have also agreed to deepen ties and collaborate on transportation, energy, industry and banking.
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