ISTANBUL

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Monday reaffirmed his country’s position on the “unacceptability” of economic and military pressure on Cuba, as he spoke to his counterpart from the Caribbean island over phone.

A statement by the Foreign Ministry said Lavrov and Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Eduardo Rodriguez Parrilla discussed “priority issues of bilateral cooperation and the international agenda.”

“The Russian side reaffirmed its principled position regarding the unacceptability of economic and military pressure on Cuba, including the disruption of energy supplies to the island, which threatens to seriously worsen the economic and humanitarian situation in the country,” the statement added.

A “firm commitment” to continue providing Cuba with the “necessary political and material support” was expressed during the talks, the statement said, adding that the top diplomats also discussed the schedule of upcoming bilateral contacts.

The conversation comes days after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order declaring a national emergency and establishing a process to impose tariffs on goods from countries that sell or otherwise provide oil to Cuba.

According to a White House fact sheet on the executive order, the move is intended to protect US national security and foreign policy interests by pressuring Cuba over what the administration calls its “malign actions and policies.”

The order, which Trump signed on Thursday, authorizes Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to take "all necessary actions," including issuing rules and guidance, to implement the tariff system and related measures.

"The president may modify the order if Cuba or affected countries take significant steps to address the threat or align with US national security and foreign policy objectives," according to the order.

In response, Russia said it opposes unilateral sanctions against sovereign independent states, defining such measures as “categorically unacceptable.”

“We strongly condemn the illegitimate prohibitive measures against Havana and the pressure on the Cuban leadership and citizens,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Saturday. Moscow, she added, is confident that Cuba will continue to maintain effective foreign economic ties “despite the external obstacles to its development.”

US embargoes against the island began in 1960 and were expanded in scope in subsequent years. Although the embargo was loosened in 2000 to allow food and humanitarian goods to be sent to Cuba, it continues to prohibit most American business with Cuba.

Rubio, whose parents migrated to the US from Cuba in the 1950s, has refused to rule out American support for a potential regime change in the country.