HAVANA, February 23 (RIA Novosti) – Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev criticized during a trip to Cuba US sanctions against the Latin American country and urged to have them removed.
“We’re not changing our position, we think this is a complete outrage, an anachronism,” Medvedev was cited as saying in an interview to Cuban media published on Saturday.
“The faster it is removed, the better for everybody, not just Cubans, but Americans as well,” the prime minister said of the US embargo.
Medvedev visited Cuba, Russia’s ally from Soviet times, for talks with the country’s leadership.
The US government first imposed economic and financial sanctions against Cuba in 1960, reacting to seizure of American-owned property by the country’s newly installed pro-Communist leadership.
Cuban authorities claim that the sanctions, which were expanded since 1960 and include a travel ban, among other things, have cost the country’s economy $108 billion. A number of recent stateside polls, including a 2012 Angus Reid Public Opinion survey of 1,008 respondents, showed that the majority of Americans support lifting the sanctions and normalizing relations with Cuba.
Medvedev also urged in his interview to reform the “unfair” global financial system, saying that Russia was willing to work to that end with Cuba and other Latin American countries.