Russian and Colombian legislators demand end of U.S. blockade

HAVANA, Cuba, Oct 25 (ACN) The State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation demanded Tuesday the end of the 60-plus years old U.S. blockade of Cuba through the resolution "On the appeal of the State Duma to the United Nations General Assembly, the Parliaments of the United Nations Member States and international parliamentary organizations on the need to put an end to the economic, commercial and financial crisis imposed on the Republic of Cuba by the United States of America".

Vyacheslav Volodin, Speaker of the Russian State Duma, said that it was not by chance that the resolution was approved, as the number of supporters of this demand increases every year, with the U.S. and Israel as the two sole dissenting countries, and remarked that Cuba has lost $159 billion dollars since the blockade was enacted.

"The State Duma flatly rejects the flagrant violation by the U.S. of the fundamental principles of international law through systematic attempts to intimidate Cuba and countless inhumane actions to deprive its people of the resources they need for a dignified life,” the document reads. “The policy of unilateral sanctions has proved to be totally ineffective (…) and unable to curb the aspirations of peoples for freedom and independence, as it only prolongs and multiplies the moral and physical suffering of the people while creating precedents of unacceptable pressure and blackmail. This assessment applies to all regions of the world and is fully applicable to the situation in Cuba.”

On their end, nine members of the House of Representatives of the Congress of the Republic of Colombia, together with Senator Sandra Ramirez Lobo Silva, demanded the U.S. government to lift the sanctions against Cuba for the sake of regional reconciliation and continental welfare.

A statement published by Representative Luis Alberto Albán Urbano underscores the gratitude of the parliamentarians towards Cuba for its contributions to peace in the continent and particularly in Colombia.

Regarding the unjust inclusion of Cuba in the spurious U.S. list of countries that allegedly sponsor terrorism, the Colombian congressmen ascribe it to the betrayal of the government of Ivan Duque and describe it as an outrageous ignominy that spurs their solidarity.