The efforts made by the United States to impose the progressive expansion of NATO towards the borders of the Russian Federation are a threat against the national security of this country and regional and international peace.
The government of the United States has been for weeks threatening Russia and manipulating the international community about the risks of an “imminent massive invasion” of Ukraine. It has supplied weapons and military technology; it has deployed troops in several countries of the region; it has applied unilateral and unjust sanctions and threatened to apply other reprisals. At the same time, it launched an anti-Russia media campaign.
Cuba had previously warned about the dangers posed by this policy.
On February 22, 2014, the then President of the Councils of State and Ministers, Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, warned: “Right now, in Ukraine, alarming events are taking place. The interference of Western powers must end (…) It must not be overlooked that these events could have very serious consequences for international peace and security.”
A few years later, on September 26, 2018, while addressing the United Nations General Assembly, the President of the Republic of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, warned: “The continued expansion of NATO towards Russian borders is causing serious threats, worsened by the imposition of arbitrary sanctions which we reject.”
We call on the United States and NATO to seriously and realistically heed the well-founded demands for security guarantees by the Russian Federation, which has the right to defend itself.
Cuba calls for a diplomatic solution through constructive and respectful dialogue.
We call for the preservation of international peace and security.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cuba
Havana, February 22, 2022.
