US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the United States and Cuba would reach an agreement, ruling out the need for military action, as Havana affirmed its readiness to resolve bilateral disputes through dialogue based on sovereign equality and respect for international law.
Trump told reporters at the White House: “I would like to say that we will reach an agreement with Cuba. I don’t think we will need the military.” Before leaving for Tennessee, he added: “We want to help Cuba... We want to open Cuba’s doors to our people.” The US president’s remarks came after his administration openly announced that it was seeking to topple the Cuban government.
Oil blockade worsens fuel and electricity crisis
The United States also imposed an oil blockade earlier this year, placing Cuba under severe pressure amid fuel shortages and power cuts worsened by deteriorating infrastructure.
For his part, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez said in an address to the United Nations General Assembly that Cuba posed no threat to the United States and remained ready for dialogue with Washington based on sovereign equality and respect for international law. Rodríguez affirmed his country’s readiness to resolve bilateral disputes through dialogue, without interference in internal affairs or the imposition of preconditions. He said: “Cuba is not a threat.
The blockade is the threat,” adding that Havana was ready to continue trade, economic relations and co-operation with the United States, as it did with any other country. The Cuban minister accused Washington of intimidating businesspeople in different countries to make them abandon their investments and activities in Cuba, and of pressuring governments to stop using Cuban medical services they had requested for the benefit of their peoples.
Rodríguez said US policy was aimed at closing off relief channels and means of survival for his country, arguing that the economic sanctions affected the entire Cuban population and caused humanitarian suffering. He described the blockade as collective punishment and a crime prohibited under international humanitarian law.
Lavrov calls for blockade on Cuba to be lifted
In the same context, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called on the United States, in an address to the UN General Assembly, to lift the blockade and restrictions imposed on Cuba and remove it from the list of state sponsors of terrorism.
Lavrov expressed his country’s solidarity with the Cuban people and government, saying that the use of force and Western double standards were causing instability in several parts of the world. The United States has imposed an embargo on Cuba for more than 60 years, while the Trump administration stepped up its pressure after using military force in January to topple Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
