Russia accuses US of running anti-Cuba information campaign

Russia has accused the United States of conducting an anti-Cuba information campaign, with Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova claiming that Washington’s intensified sanctions pressure on Havana reflects a “revived Monroe Doctrine.”

“Cuba continues to be subjected to severe economic pressure from the United States. The new restrictions imposed by the White House in early May on companies from third countries operating on the Island of Freedom represent another escalation of Washington’s pressure policy, the main aim of which is the economic strangulation of Cuba,” Zakharova told a briefing, Caliber.Az reports, citing Russian media.

She added that efforts by the US administration to “tighten the sanctions noose around Cuba, alongside years of trade, economic, financial, humanitarian, and more recently fuel and energy blockades, are a direct reflection of Washington’s intolerance toward any dissent, a cynical embodiment of a revived Monroe Doctrine.”

Zakharova stressed that Moscow condemns any attempts to interfere in Cuba’s internal affairs and will continue to support the Cuban people, noting that Cuban authorities have already been informed of the parameters of this assistance.

She also strongly criticized Western media reports alleging that Cuba is planning an attack on the United States, describing them as a “provocation” and part of an anti-Cuba information campaign amid increasing US pressure on Havana.

“You understand, this already causes Homeric laughter,” she said. “How can one take seriously a publication that claims, supposedly in a serious international affairs outlet, that Cuba wants to attack the United States of America? (…) Cuba that is surrounded, including by an information and technological blockade, encircled by all possible rings of so-called American aggressive ‘care,’ wants to attack the United States? Do you understand, either the author has gone mad or this is a deliberate provocation designed to shape public opinion. I clearly see signs of the latter here, but I cannot rule out the former either. Therefore, this is a provocation created within the framework of the ongoing US anti-Cuba information campaign amid unprecedented pressure on Havana. Someone is trying, as we say, to shift blame from a sick head to a healthy one, portraying a fictitious threat from Cuba.”

By Vafa Guliyeva