The Russian Embassy in Cuba confirmed this Monday to the Russian newspaper Izvestia that the expansion of BRICS with new full members is not on the agenda of the bloc, thereby dismissing the Cuban regime's aspirations to elevate its status within the organization.
"Cuba continues to engage with the BRICS member countries as a partner nation. As far as we know, the question of expanding the number of full members of the organization is not currently on the table," stated the Russian diplomatic representation.
The closure comes just days after the Cuban Embassy in Moscow publicly announced, between August 20 and 21, Havana's intention to move from "partner country" to "full member," seeking support "particularly from Russia."
The refusal is particularly striking given the level of subordination of the Cuban regime to Moscow's interests: Cuba has allowed its territory to be used by Russian forces and has tolerated—according to reports—the mass recruitment of Cuban citizens as mercenaries for the war in Ukraine.
Ukrainian intelligence estimated before the United States Congress that Russia has recruited at least 20,000 Cubans to fight in that conflict, with nominal lists verifying more than 1,000 signed contracts and at least 54 confirmed deaths.
In the energy sector, Cuba's dependence on Moscow is equally critical, although Russian supplies have been erratic and insufficient.
The last Russian ship with fuel arrived on the island at the end of March: the tanker Anatoli Kolodkin unloaded in Matanzas 100,000 tons of crude oil, enough for only about seven to ten days of energy consumption.
Since then, shipments have been halted. In May, the Russian tanker Universal changed course and departed from Cuba without delivering its cargo, worsening the already critical electricity crisis on the island.
China, the other major ally of the regime, has also not pushed for Cuba's full membership in the BRICS, despite maintaining intense energy cooperation: it has installed 49 solar parks on the island and in January 2026 approved emergency aid of 80 million dollars in electrical equipment.
The Cuban history with the bloc began in October 2024, when the regime officially requested its incorporation through a letter addressed to Vladimir Putin. The response from the Kazan summit was to admit Cuba solely as a "partner country," a category without voting rights or decision-making power.
Since then, Havana has intensified its diplomacy without results: Díaz-Canel traveled to Brazil in July 2025 to participate in the BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro, and Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla attended the meeting of foreign ministers in New Delhi in May 2026, where he called for support from the bloc in the face of a potential military aggression from the United States against Cuba.
None of those efforts have managed to change the situation. The bloc requires consensus from all of its full members to admit new members, which makes the Russian rejection a decisive obstacle.
The next BRICS summit will be held in New Delhi on September 12 and 13, under Indian presidency, without Cuba listed on the agenda as a candidate for full membership.
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