Russia`s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (L) shakes hands with his Cuban counterpart, Bruno Rodriguez, in Havana, on February 19, 2024. (Photo by the Russian Foreign Ministry)

Russia has denounced the United States` "unacceptable" economic and military pressure on Cuba as the administration of US President Donald Trump moves to cut off oil shipments to the Caribbean country.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov made the remarks on Monday during a telephone conversation with his Cuban counterpart, Bruno Rodriguez.

Lavrov said that the disruption of energy supplies to the island nation "threatens to seriously worsen the economic and humanitarian situation" there.

He also reiterated Moscow`s "firm commitment to continue providing Cuba with the necessary political and material support."

Similarly on January 31, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova strongly condemned "illegitimate restrictive measures" on Cuba, saying Moscow is confident that Havana will maintain economic ties despite "external obstacles".

The comments came two days after Trump signed an executive order threatening to impose tariffs on the countries that send oil to Cuba. In it, he declared a "national emergency" over what he called the "unusual and extraordinary threat" posed by Cuba.

A week earlier, Trump wrote in a Truth Social post, "THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA - ZERO!"

The Trump administration has been ratcheting up pressure on Cuba since it kidnapped the Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whose country was a crucial source for oil exports to Cuba.

The Cuban government has accused Trump of seeking to strangle the country`s economy, which is already suffering from fuel shortages and blackouts caused by more than six decades of unilateral US sanctions.

On January 30, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said In an X post that Trump sought to "suffocate" the island`s economy and that the tariffs revealed the "fascist, criminal, and genocidal nature of a clique that has hijacked the interests of the American people for purely personal gain".

Mexico`s President Claudia Sheinbaum warned that Trump`s threat of new tariffs would set off a "humanitarian crisis of great scope" in Cuba.

Penalizing countries for exporting oil to Cuba would directly affect hospitals, food and other basic services for the nation, "a situation that must be avoided through respect for international law and dialogue," she added.