A car fills up with gasoline at a gasoline station in Havana on January 28, 2026.
Yamil Lage | Afp | Getty Photographs
The Kremlin on Thursday mentioned it’s actively discussing what assist it may well present to fuel-starved Cuba, dismissing U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff menace to sanction international locations that ship oil to the Caribbean island.
“We would not need any escalation, however alternatively, we do not have a lot commerce proper now,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov advised reporters, in accordance with Russian state information outlet RIA Novosti.
His feedback got here in response to a query about whether or not the Kremlin was involved in regards to the Trump administration’s tariff threats.
The White Home has pledged to impose tariffs on international locations that present any oil to Cuba, whether or not immediately or not directly, saying the communist-run authorities represents an “uncommon and extraordinary menace.”
The U.S. has stepped up its strain marketing campaign on Cuba’s management since Jan. 3, when it performed a rare army operation to depose Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, a longtime ally of Cuba’s authorities.
Peskov reportedly mentioned Thursday that Moscow would search to have interaction in “constructive dialogue” with the U.S. over Cuba’s deepening vitality disaster.
“It is clear that it is unimaginable to debate these points in such a public method proper now for apparent causes,” Peskov mentioned.
Cuba, which has been the topic of a U.S. commerce embargo for greater than 60 years, is mired in a worsening financial disaster.
As such, Cuba’s authorities lately outlined emergency measures designed to guard important companies and ration gasoline provides for key sectors.
The plan reportedly contains restrictions on gasoline gross sales, the closure of some vacationer institutions, shortening faculty days and a discount of the working week at state-owned firms to 4 days, from Monday to Thursday.
Cuba’s management warned on Sunday that worldwide airways would now not have the ability to refuel within the nation resulting from an ongoing aviation gasoline scarcity.
Air Canada subsequently canceled all flights to the island, although the airline mentioned Monday that it could deliver some 3,000 clients already within the nation again dwelling over the approaching days.
