On Monday, the Kremlin expressed its approval of a Russian-flagged oil tanker reaching Cuba, indicating that energy provisions to the fuel-deprived island had been negotiated with the U.S. prior to its arrival.
Kremlin Representative Dmitry Peskov asserted that Moscow saw it as its obligation to assist Cuba, as reported by Russian state news agency RIA Novosti. He emphasized that Havana was in need of oil derivatives due to an effective U.S. oil blockade.
A Russian oil tanker carrying a humanitarian cargo of 100,000 tons of crude oil was reported to have arrived in Cuba earlier that day.
The sanctioned vessel Anatoly Kolodkin was reportedly poised to unload shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump stated he had “no issue” with a Russian crude tanker supplying fuel to Cuba.
Touting his views to journalists aboard Air Force One on Sunday, Trump remarked: “If a nation wants to deliver some oil to Cuba right now, I’m perfectly fine with that, whether it’s Russia or otherwise.”
This shipment of crude oil is perceived as a critical support line for the Caribbean nation, which is confronting its most significant challenge since the fall of the Soviet Union amidst a worsening energy crisis.
Cuba had been significantly reliant on oil imports from Venezuela, but it has been effectively isolated since early January when the U.S. initiated an unprecedented military operation to remove Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.
The Trump administration subsequently threatened to implement tariffs on any nations that supplied crude to Cuba, resulting in countries like Mexico ceasing shipments. The Kremlin has previously dismissed the tariff threats from Trump, highlighting that there is currently not much trade occurring between Washington and Moscow.
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Last week, Cuba’s President Miguel Díaz-Canel announced that the island had not received oil deliveries in over three months. The country, which has indicated it is in negotiations with the U.S., has been striving to substantially boost its solar power generation in light of the ongoing fuel shortages.
The island home to about 10 million residents has endured a series of power outages in the past weeks, and the United Nations has cautioned that Cuban hospitals are struggling to sustain emergency and intensive care services.
“Cuba is finished; they have a poor regime and their leadership is deeply corrupt, and whether they receive a shipment of oil won’t matter,” Trump stated on Sunday.
“I support allowing the oil in, regardless of whether it’s from Russia or any other source, because the people require heating, air conditioning, and all essential needs,” he elaborated.
