Cuba To Keep Importing Russian Oil At Present Level - Ambassador To Russia

Cuba to Keep Importing Russian Oil at Present Level - Ambassador to Russia

Cuba will continue to purchase Russian oil at the current level to meet the needs of the country's economy, Cuban Ambassador to Moscow Julio Antonio Garmendia Pena, said on Tuesday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th March, 2023) Cuba will continue to purchase Russian oil at the current level to meet the needs of the country's economy, Cuban Ambassador to Moscow Julio Antonio Garmendia Pena, said on Tuesday.

"Last year, we purchased Russian oil for consumption and the needs of the Cuban economy. We are going to continue in this direction ... This is not about increasing, but about consuming oil. We are purchasing what we bought last year, what we need," the ambassador told reporters.

Cuba has been experiencing problems with fuel supplies for a long time due to the ongoing US sanctions pressure.

Venezuela, the main supplier of fuel to the country, has also been hit hard by US sanctions that have limited the export of Venezuelan oil to other states.

The situation in Cuba has further worsened in recent years due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the devastating 2022 fire at an oil storage facility in the province of Matanzas. Against this backdrop, Havana has significantly boosted its oil cooperation with Moscow, which is also under Western sanctions over its special military operation in Ukraine.