Cuba says cooperation with Russia will not threaten others
Ernesto Soberon Guzman said Havana would rely mainly on its own efforts to protect its sovereignty and rejected claims that its ties threaten US security.
Cuba's UN envoy said Havana can expand cooperation with Russia and other interested countries without posing a threat to anyone, Russia's state news agency TASS reported in an interview published on Monday.
Ambassador Ernesto Soberon Guzman said the cooperation would cover various areas and would aim at mutually beneficial results for the parties involved.
"The purpose of such cooperation is to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes for the parties involved," the diplomat said.
Soberon Guzman said Havana intends to rely primarily on its own efforts to protect its sovereignty and independence.
He said cooperation with foreign partners is intended to develop the Cuban economy and serve the interests of the population.
He rejected claims that Havana's cooperation with Moscow or other countries could pose a threat to US national security.
Soberon Guzman also pointed to the US military presence in Cuba, saying the US naval base at Guantanamo is the only foreign military facility on the island.
"It is there against the will of our people," he said.
The US naval base at Guantanamo Bay, on the southeastern coast of Cuba, has been operated by the United States since 1903 under a lease that Cuba has long opposed.
Cuba and Russia have maintained close diplomatic and economic ties for decades, and Havana has repeatedly pressed for the closure of the base.
