Russia will help Cuba to restore your electricity generation system, Russian Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilov said this Friday during a meeting with Cuban Deputy Prime Minister Ricardo Cabrisas at a time when the Caribbean nation is experiencing serious electricity supply problems.
“The construction of new energy facilities is an important stage for reestablishing the working capacity of Cuba’s energy system. I am sure that the participation and experience of Russian specialists will represent a considerable contribution to the energy branch of the republic.“said the Russian minister, quoted on Telegram.
According to the Russian Ministry of Energy, representatives of Russia and Cuba “discussed the prospects for cooperation” in the fuel and energy complex of the largest of the Antilles and cooperation in the construction of energy facilities.
They also debated the cooperation in the oil and gas sphereparticularly around the joint project of the Boca de Jaruco field, “where high levels of crude oil extraction were reached.”
“The exchange of professional experiences will foster the development of dialogue between our countries on energy matters,” stressed the Russian Energy Minister.
Currently Cuba faces serious problems in its electrical system, which cause blackouts of up to about 40% of the country, due to the lack of fuel needed by terrestrial thermoelectric plants to generate electricity and the breakdowns and maintenance of several units of these plants, which have been in operation for more than four decades.
The Cuban regime has rented several floating power plants (of which currently only five remain) to alleviate the lack of generation capacity, a quick but temporary, polluting and expensive solution.
The blackouts hamper the economic performance of Cuba, which has been mired in a serious crisis for four years. They have also been the trigger for the anti-government protests in recent years, including those on July 11, 2021 – the largest in decades – and those on March 17 in Santiago de Cuba (east) and other locations.
On the other hand, the Cuban regime criticized this Friday the decision of the G7 to grant a loan of about USD 50,000 million to kyiv with Russian asset interests frozen in the European Union (EU) for the sanctions on Moscow after its invasion of Ukraine.
According to what Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez expressed on social networks, this measure will not serve to advance towards peace but will contribute to a worsening of the situation, in addition to have no legal basis.
“The G7 agreement to use Russian assets frozen in Western banks for the military conflict in Europe, far from being a solution for peace, constitutes an incentive for the escalation of the war and a serious violation of International Law“, wrote.
The G7, meeting this week in Italy, agreed on this measure as one more formula to help Ukraine in its financial and military effort. Russia, for its part, has already advanced retaliation.
The Cuban regime has defended Russia from the first moment in this war, despite the pacifist and anti-imperialist rhetoric of its diplomacy and its traditional friendship with Ukraine, founded during its years in the socialist bloc.
In recent years, Cuba and Russia have deepened their historic relations in the political, military and economic spheres. The first are mainly harassed by the serious crisis they suffer; the latter, to consolidate their meager network of allies and take advantage of the geostrategic value of the island. Cuba is not expected to be represented at the Peace Conference on Ukraine that begins in Switzerland this Saturday.
(With information from EFE)
