Russia's deputy foreign minister visits Cuba: Havana
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Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov visited Cuba on Thursday, holding talks with President Miguel Diaz-Canel as tensions simmer between Washington and energy-starved Havana.
Diaz-Canel's office confirmed the meeting in a post on X. The talks come 10 days after a Russian oil tanker arrived in Cuba despite a de facto US fuel blockade.
"We take this opportunity to send a hug to our dear friend, President Vladimir Putin," the president's office wrote that Diaz-Canel said in the meeting.
Under President Donald Trump, the United States has threatened tariffs on any country that attempts to sell oil to the island, resulting in an energy crisis on the communist island that has worsened since January.
The US labels Cuba a threat to US national security, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is of Cuban descent, has demanded changes to Cuba's leadership.
Earlier on Thursday, Diaz-Canel told US-based NBC News that he would not resign under US pressure.
Rubio has denied calling for Diaz-Canel's resignation.
"At the present moment, Russia is one hundred percent in solidarity with Cuba; despite the complexity the country is going through, we are by your side, said the deputy foreign minister," the Cuban president's office wrote in an X post on Thursday.
