The Russian Ambassador in Cuba, Andrei Guskovexpressed gratitude for the support and solidarity of the Cuban regime one year after the start of the invasion of Ukraine.
“Friends meet in difficult times. The year 2022 showed who our friends are and who are not. For this reason, I would like to thank the position of the Cuban sister nation and its government, affirmed by the President of the Republic of Cuba, Miguel Diaz-Canel, and other senior executives,” Guskov said in a Telegram article, quoted by Russia’s state news agency Sputnik.
The diplomat took the opportunity to repeat most of the errors of the propaganda machine Wladimir Putin used to justify the invasion, pointing out that the Cuban government had also adopted this narrative in its official statement on the invasion.
Guskov, who currently remains ambassador to Cuba, although Putin appointed Victor Koronelli to his place a few weeks agoblamed NATO for the invasion and said his country was waging a crusade against the Nazis in Ukraine.
In addition, he assured that the Ukrainian Defense Forces are committing war crimes, although international organizations have, on the contrary, documented massacres of civilians and genocide by the invading forces.
Russia is an old ally of the Cuban regime, which has increased economic aid to the island in recent months.
Likewise, the Cuban regime was responsible for defending and justifying Moscow after invading Ukraine, a fact that led to a series of sanctions by the United States and the European Union.
Last Thursday, the government of Cuba abstained from an emergency vote Convened by the United Nations General Assembly to demand the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine.
A year after the invasion began, the multinational voted on a resolution calling for the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine and “emphasizing the need to achieve a universal, just and lasting peace as soon as possible.”
The proposal was adopted with 141 votes in favour, 32 abstentions and 7 against (Belarus, Eritrea, Mali, Nicaragua, DPRK, Russia and Syria).
In October last year Cuba also abstained in another historic UN vote which condemned the annexation of Ukrainian territories by Russia.
Around that date, the island also voted against the UN order for surveillance by a special rapporteur the repression of opponents in Moscow.