“It cannot be properly measured in kopeks, dollars, or pesos,” says Sergei Ryabkov.
14ymedio/EFE, Madrid/Moscow, April 3, 2026 – The friendship between Russia and Cuba is enduring, declared Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Sergei Ryabkov, on Friday, stating that Moscow will continue supporting Havana despite U.S. pressure on the Island. “It cannot be properly measured in kopeks, dollars, or pesos. It is an enduring value. We value it highly,” the Russian diplomat emphasized in an interview with the TASS agency.
Both countries, he recalled, have interacted for decades “across the full spectrum of issues aimed at ensuring high human development, the development of science and education, cultural and human exchanges, and the development of the arts.”
“Not to mention our shared history and the solidarity, mutual support, which has always been felt and continues to be felt. And Russia maintains its commitment to this policy, especially at the current difficult stage,” he added. The senior Russian diplomat also reiterated the demand to end U.S. pressure on the Island.
“We insist that Cuba’s security be guaranteed. We demand an end to the blockade of the Island, which is absolutely illegal and illegitimate.”
“We insist that Cuba’s security be guaranteed. We demand an end to the blockade of the Island, which is absolutely illegal and illegitimate. And I am sure that the results Washington hopes to achieve with this blockade will continue to go unrealized,” he said.
The tanker Anatoly Kolodkin, sanctioned by the United States and the European Union and carrying 100,000 tons of crude oil, arrived Tuesday in Matanzas, marking the first oil shipment to reach the Island in three months, following the oil blockade imposed by the United States at the end of January. “This valuable assistance arrives amid the energy siege imposed by the United States, which seeks to suffocate the Cuban population,” Havana’s Foreign Ministry said on the social network X.
U.S. President Donald Trump had downplayed Moscow’s move to break the blockade imposed by Washington and dismissed the idea that the arrival of crude oil in Cuba would have any impact on the Island’s current situation. “It doesn’t bother me (…) they have a bad regime, they have bad and corrupt leadership, and whether a ship of oil arrives or not, it doesn’t matter,” the president said.
On Thursday, Russia’s Energy Minister, Sergei Tsiviliov, reported that after sending the Anatoly Kolodkin, his government is preparing a second shipment of crude oil to Cuba. “We will not abandon the Cubans,” Tsiviliov told local media at an energy forum held in the city of Kazan.
Cuba requires about 100,000 barrels per day to meet its energy needs, of which around 40,000 come from domestic production, mainly used to keep its outdated thermoelectric plants running. The inability to cover the remaining demand has resulted in long daily blackouts and the near-total paralysis of the economy.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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