Cuba backs Vladimir Putin in Ukraine crisis

By Laura Gamba

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BOGOTA, Colombia (AA) - Cuba slammed the US on Wednesday for expanding NATO toward Russia’s borders and called for a diplomatic solution to preserve international peace.

"The determination of the United States to impose the progressive expansion of NATO towards the borders of the Russian Federation constitutes a threat to the national security of this country and regional and international peace," the Cuban Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The statement follows Russian President Vladimir Putin´s decision to recognize the Donetsk Luhansk regions in eastern Ukraine as independent and he ordered the deployment of troops to keep the peace.

The moves prompted the US to begin imposing economic sanctions, aimed at hindering it Moscow’s access to Western funding.

Cuba has had close economic ties with Russia for decades. On Tuesday, Russia agreed to postpone some debt payments owed by Cuba until 2027 and the two countries announced they would deepen ties.

“The US government has for weeks been threatening Russia and manipulating the international community about the dangers of an ‘imminent massive invasion’ of Ukraine,” said the statement. “It has supplied weapons and military technology, deployed troops in several countries in the region, applied unilateral and unjust sanctions, and threatened other reprisals. In parallel, it unleashed an anti-Russian propaganda campaign.”

In Venezuela, President Nicolas Maduro also sided with Moscow.

“Venezuela announces its full support to President Vladimir Putin in the defense of Russia's peace,” Maduro said during a meeting with ministers that was broadcast on television. "Venezuela is with Putin, with Russia, with the brave and just causes of the world, and we are going to strengthen our alliance more and more," he said.

After Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov visited Venezuela last week, the Russian emissary said the South American country is a key ally for Russia and the two countries will look to deepen ties.

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega on Monday expressed support for Putin. Ortega said the Russian president was within his rights to recognize two Moscow-backed separatist regions as independent.

​​The US and the European Union have imposed crippling economic sanctions on Cuba, Venezuela and other nations. Many of the penalties have tightened in recent years.