Russia slams Trump's policy on Cuba

Russia's foreign ministry yesterday said it regretted US President Donald Trump's policy reversal on Cuba, calling it reminiscent of the Cold War era.

"The new line towards Cuba announced by US President Donald Trump takes us back to already half-forgotten rhetoric in the style of the Cold War," the ministry said in a statement on its website.

Trump vowed Friday to overhaul his predecessor Barack Obama's deal to restore ties with Cuba, promising instead to support the Cuban people against Raul Castro's government.

Moscow said Trump's policy changes showed that "anti-Cuban discourse is still widely in demand. This cannot but cause regret."

It said that easing of sanctions under Obama was a "well-thought-out political decision in which there were no losers except marginal Castro opponents."

Russia said it was reaffirming its "unshakeable solidarity with Cuba."

Despite Trump's campaign pledge to improve relations with Moscow, there has been no significant improvement in foreign policy cooperation between the two countries. Last week, the US Senate voted overwhelmingly to back new sanctions on Russia.

Moscow maintains close ties with Havana, and in March signed a deal to ship oil to Cuba for the first time in over a decade.

Cuban President Raul Castro visited Russia in 2015 while President Vladimir Putin visited the island on a tour of Latin America in 2014, meeting both the president and the revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, who died last year.