Snip:
A Russian tanker carrying 100,000 tons of oil has arrived in Cuba amid the ongoing US blockade of the island nation, Russian media reported on 30 March.
[…]
On Monday, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow cannot remain indifferent to Cuba’s energy problems.
“We will continue working,” he said while commenting on the arrival of the Russian tanker.
“The desperate situation in which Cubans now find themselves cannot leave us indifferent. Therefore, we will continue working on this issue,” the Kremlin spokesman stressed.
Thank you Russia
I think the main reason it was lead through was nuclear deterance, Russia gains a lot by helping cuba in the form of soft power with the latin american left something other countries like China or the EU have done to have better relations with the region, plus it gives the USA an L which hurts their image
It’s difficult to figure out what is happening here behind the scenes.
Is this a deal between Trump and Putin? And if so, what else was involved in the deal? How will this effect Ukraine and the Iran war?
And if this wasn’t a deal, is this a Russian challenge to American hegemony? Is this a sign of America’s overreach in Iran, leaving them no longer able to maintain former positions of global dominance?
There’s no deal. Russia can do this because the US can’t stop them, the US are fully extended in Iran.
Thankfully. Because Cuba is suffering.
I don’t even think it’s about statesian overextension, but rather their innate inability to stop a vessel owned by another nuclear armed nation. Conversely, Russia couldn’t stop euro-statesian military shipments to Ukraine.
This is Russia demonstrating how this cuts both ways.
Is this a sign of America’s overreach in Iran, leaving them no longer able to maintain former positions of global dominance?
Inshallah
Why would Trump go to such lengths to create the blockade just to make a secret deal with Russia that poses them as heroes against American tyranny?
Because drumpf Putler Voldemort. That is why
This is just like in Gambo Throwne. Get his ass, Gambo!
Well the hypothesis is that the Iran War and global economic crisis has overshadowed the importance of the Cuban blockade, so Trump would be willing to give in on Cuba if Russia is willing to help keep oil prices lower.
Why would Trump go to such lengths to create the blockade just to quietly back down when the blockade is finally inflicting serious pain on the innocent Cuban people? The US seized Russian oil tankers just a few months ago, they could have seized this one too.
The US seized Russian oil tankers just a few months ago, they could have seized this one too.
They chased and seized a tanker that was Venezuelan that painted a Russian flag on itself while being chased and Russia added it to their maritime register mid-voyage.
This was just Russia trying to help a Venezuelan tanker and the US calling their bluff. They weren’t truly willing to commit to anything over it because it wasn’t actually one of theirs.
The one bound for Cuba genuinely is though, the situation is different.
As Awoo says, that situation was somewhat different. I think it’s clear that the US quietly backed down simply because they were put on the spot and knew they couldn’t handle the consequences of committing piracy against Russia while their war in Iran is going to shit.
If Trump was making a deal, he would not have let Russia take the appearance of successfully defying the US to save Cubans. He would only agree to a deal that allowed the US to retain an appearance of agency over the situation, even if they didn’t really have more agency than they do here. It’s seriously his most consistent foreign policy approach to try to big dog absolutely everyone, even shooting himself in the foot, fucking up relationships with allies, or causing Americans to die for it. It’s unfathomable that he would subvert that in a situation where it makes Russia – who does not actually control Trump, it must be remembered – look 10x better than they already would have in a Trump-approved mission while only making him look like an absolute paper tiger. And that’s really the difference, did he choose to look like a paper tiger when he isn’t one, or is he actually a paper tiger? I think the answer is plainly the latter.
While military logistics and things like that are absolutely not my wheelhouse so you should take it with a grain of salt, I think this was expertly timed by Russia because it’s in the middle of the US trying to mobilize forces to Iran, and the idea of creating a situation that Russia is surely prepared to immediately escalate (otherwise, why send the tanker?) while the US is mid-step with that mobilization effort was probably a very daunting idea.
