The UN General Assembly made a 25th attempt to remove the trade embargo from Cuba that the United States imposed on the island over 50 years ago. The corresponding resolution was supported by 191 states, while the U.S. along with Israel abstained from voting.
The UN General Assembly expressed its concern over application of laws and regulations such as the Helms-Burton law, effective in the U.S. since March 1996, which imposed sanctions on foreign companies trading with Cuba.
The resolution urges the states which have adopted and continue to apply such laws and measures to take necessary steps for their cancellation in the immediate future.
Cuba’s blockade proves futility of one-sided sanctions
The deputy chief of Russian mission to the UN, Sergei Kononuchenko said on Wednesday thet the US trade and economic blockade of Cuba that began almost sixty years ago has exposed the futile and counterproductive character of one-sided sanctions as a tool for attaining political goals.
He underlined the consistency and continuity of Moscow’s position on the issue, adding: “U.S. embargo against Cuba should be lifted immediately as it runs counter to the fundamental principles of the UN Charter, which stipulate the inadmissibility of any discriminatory measures and interference with the internal affairs of sovereign countries.”
Kononuchenko said Cuban experience was showing best of all the counter-productivity of lopsided coercive measures in the sphere of trade and economy in terms of achieving political objectives.
“They only deal blows or rank-and-file people and worsen the conditions for the least protected sections of the population,” he said.