US Blockade, COVID-19 Pandemic Negatively Affecting Cuba-Russia Trade - Cuban Official

The ongoing US economic blockade and the COVID-19 pandemic have negatively impacted Cuba and Russia's bilateral trade relations, Ricardo Cabrisas Ruiz, the vice president of Cuba's Council of Ministers, said on Monday during his visit to Moscow

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st September, 2020) The ongoing US economic blockade and the COVID-19 pandemic have negatively impacted Cuba and Russia's bilateral trade relations, Ricardo Cabrisas Ruiz, the vice president of Cuba's Council of Ministers, said on Monday during his visit to Moscow.

"This visit is taking place at a time when Cuba faces difficult economic conditions for two main reasons: the tightening of the financial, trade, and economic blockade of Cuba by the United States, and against the backdrop of a pandemic ... These two factors are negatively impacting our economy, which, of course, impacts our bilateral economic ties," Cabrisas Ruiz said during a meeting with Valentina Matviyenko, the speaker of the Russian parliament's upper chamber.

The vice president of the Council of Ministers said that Cuba was having difficulty meeting its economic obligations, although Havana was hopeful that the situation would improve and trade flows with Moscow would increase.

The United States has imposed an economic, commercial, and financial blockade on Cuba for six decades, ever since the Cuban authorities nationalized US-owned oil refineries without compensation. Havana annually submits a draft resolution to the UN General Assembly calling for the lifting of the embargo.