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Russia Calls for U.S. to End Cuba Blockade

The Foreign Ministry on Tuesday appealed to Washington to end its decades-old trade embargo on Cuba.

"Our position on this is well known. Russia like the vast majority of the world community calls for early cancellation of the United States' economic, trade and financial blockade of Cuba, which is seen as a relic of the Cold War," the ministry said in a statement.

It noted that Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made a similar call last fall at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

The UN General Assembly then demanded that the U.S. lift the embargo "in the shortest possible time." A total of 186 UN member states supported the resolution, while three countries voted against, including the U.S, and two abstained.

The State Duma also urged an end to the blockade last November.

The Foreign Ministry has prodded the U.S. over Cuba at least nine times since 1994 through statements like the one Tuesday, Interfax reported.

The ministry promised Tuesday to continue to firmly and consistently support Havana on the issue.

The U.S. first imposed an embargo on Cuba in October 1960 and strengthened it to a near-total embargo in 1962. The decision was made after Cuba nationalized the property of U.S. citizens and corporations under new leader Fidel Castro, a longtime ally of Moscow.

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