US President Donald Trump said last night that he had "no problem" with a Russian oil tanker off the coast of Cuba delivering aid to the island, which is struggling due to the US oil blockade.
"We have a tanker there. We don't mind if someone gets an oil tanker because they need it... they have to survive," Trump told reporters on Air Force One as he traveled to Washington from Florida.
Asked whether a New York Times report that the tanker would be allowed to reach Cuba was accurate, Trump replied: "If a country wants to send some oil to Cuba right now, I have no problem with that, whether it's Russia or not."
Tanker tracking data showed the ship, carrying about 730.000 barrels of oil, was off the eastern tip of the island last night and was scheduled to reach the city of Matanzas by Tuesday. Journalists working for Cuban state media also reported that the ship was expected to arrive, although officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The ship Anatoli Kolodkin is under sanctions from the US, the European Union and the UK due to the war in Ukraine.
Experts say the expected delivery could produce about 180.000 barrels of diesel, enough to cover Cuba's needs for nine or 10 days.
Cuba has long been at the center of a dispute between the United States and Russia for decades. Trump last night dismissed suggestions that allowing the ship to reach Cuba would help Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"It doesn't help him. He loses one ship of oil, that's all it is. If he wants to do it and if other countries want to do it, that doesn't bother me much," Trump said.
He said that "it will have no impact" and that "Cuba is finished."
"They have a bad regime. They have very bad and corrupt leadership, and whether they get a shipload of oil or not will have no impact," Trump said.
"I would rather let (the tanker) come in whether it's Russia or whoever because the people need heating... and all that stuff," Trump said.
Trump, whose administration has taken a far more aggressive stance toward Cuba than any U.S. administration in recent history, has effectively cut off the Caribbean island from key oil supplies in an effort to force regime change. The blockade is having a devastating effect on the civilians whom Trump and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio say they want to help, and many are desperate.
Island-wide power outages have hit Cubans already struggling with a multi-year crisis, while shortages of gasoline and other basic resources have crippled hospitals and reduced public transportation.
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