Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was in Cuba on Tuesday.
He met with his Cuban counterpart in Havana and slammed long-standing U.S. sanctions against the island nation.
He also said U.S. and European sanctions against his own country over the Ukraine crisis defy common sense.
(SOUNDBITE) (Russian) RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER SERGEI LAVROV, SAYING:
"We reject sanctions in any of our relationships, in particular those sanctions that were sponsored by the United States and the European Union, which are against all common sense, regarding the events in Ukraine. Attempts to put the blame on other people, that is the fate of weak politicians or those politicians who understand that their geopolitical ambitions failed."
The West has accused Russia of stirring up a separatist campaign in eastern Ukraine, a charge Moscow denies.
Cuba has stood firmly by Russia, one of its closest allies and a crucial economic supporter during Soviet days.
