All news

Lower house speaker slams US sanctions policy during meeting with Cuban leader

The lower house speaker says the use of sanctions by the United States as a political tool against countries that irk Washington is unacceptable

MOSCOW, November 2. /TASS/. The use of sanctions by the United States as a political tool against countries that irk Washington is unacceptable, Speaker of Russia’s State Duma (lower house of parliament) Vyacheslav Volodin said at a meeting with President of Cuba’s Council of State and Council of Ministers, Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, on Friday.

Volodin noted that the meeting coincided with a highly anticipated event, specifically, the resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly calling for ending the embargo imposed by the US against Cuba in 1962.

"A policy of sanctions is something all of us should be opposed to, because it is inconsistent with both international norms and those rules that should be followed in our multipolar world. Only the UN can make a decision, and we should act in light of the decisions made by all countries. Today, when one single country rejects all agreements and all achievements by UN members, that’s inadmissible, and we are opposed to such a policy," he stressed.

Volodin recalled that, in addition to Cuba and Russia, such countries as China, Iran, Turkey and many others that frustrate the US, were facing sanctions, which is essentially a political tool used by Washington. "Of course, these are the challenges that need to be countered and overcome," he added.

"We believe that the policy of sanctions is unacceptable, it contradicts any logic of cultivating bilateral ties. It contradicts the position of non-interference in the affairs of sovereign states, and, most importantly, it calls into question all decisions made earlier, including those on free trade," Volodin concluded.

UN Resolution

On Thursday, for the 27th time, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution calling for an end to the embargo imposed by the US against Cuba in 1962. A total of 189 states voted to support the resolution, while the US and Israel voted against.

The United States severed diplomatic relations with Cuba in response to the nationalization of US property in that country, after which Washington announced a trade and economic embargo would be imposed on Cuba. Since then countering the embargo has been the priority of Havana’s foreign policy.

According to the Cuban authorities, the economic chaos caused by the blockade (that’s what Havana calls the US embargo) has amounted to $134.5 bln. However, if the losses from the sanctions that have been in effect for more than half a century are now measured by taking into account the depreciation of the dollar against gold, then they would reach $933 bln.