EU Spokesman Calls on U.S. to Reverse Classification of Cuba as Terrorist Supporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The High Representative for Foreign Policy of the European Union (EU), Josep Borrell, urged US President Biden to reverse the decision, taken by his predecessor Donald Trump just before his term ended, to include Cuba in its list of countries supporting terrorism.

‘We very much regret Trump’s decision to include Cuba in the list of countries that support terrorism. This decision was taken in the last hours of his term,” Borrell stated in Moscow, during a joint press conference with his counterpart, Sergey Lavrov.

“We hope that the new administration will reverse it,” he said.

On the issue, the head of Russian diplomacy stressed that “the case of Cuba clearly demonstrates that unilateral approaches are harmful and should be reviewed. Here we fully agree with the European Union,” he said.

Lavrov reiterated his country’s calls on the need for dialogue to resolve disagreements between countries. “Pressures, sanctions and punitive measures with extraterritorial restrictions against countries seeking to develop normal relations are methods and instruments of the colonial past,” he said.

According to data presented by the Cuban government in its latest report to the United Nations, from April 2019 to March 2020, the blockade has caused losses to Cuba of more than US5.57 billion.

The figure represents an increase of around US$1. 22 billion with respect to the previous period, points out the text presented by the island, whose consideration was transferred for May 2021 due to the situation caused by Covid-19.

“For the first time, the total amount of the damages caused by this policy in one year exceeds the barrier of five billion dollars, which illustrates the extent to which the blockade has intensified at this stage,” the document notes.