The Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla and the Russian Foreign Minister Serguéi Lavrov met this Wednesday in New York on the sidelines of the High-Level Week of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly, as confirmed by both foreign ministries on their social media.
The meeting occurs just 24 hours after President Donald Trump labeled Cuba as an "absolutely failed state" before the General Assembly and claimed that the regime would "fall," statements that prompted the immediate withdrawal of the Cuban delegation from the chamber.
The Cuban Foreign Ministry described the space as "favorable for discussing the excellent state of the strategic and multifaceted bilateral ties," in a statement that publicly reaffirms Havana's closeness to Moscow in the very setting where Washington denounces that alliance.
Rodríguez had responded to Trump, labeling his words as “falsehoods” and “slander”, and announced that he would provide a formal response at the General Assembly on Friday, September 26.
The meeting with Lavrov carries a symbolic weight that is hard to overlook: the Cuban regime is strengthening its ties with Moscow in the very forum where the United States accuses it of hosting "sophisticated military and intelligence capabilities" from Russia and China on the island, according to a fact sheet from the State Department.
This Wednesday, Lavrov also met with Secretary of State Marco Rubio in New York, with Ukraine as the central theme, illustrating the diplomatic intensity of the day and Russia's position as a key player on multiple fronts simultaneously.
The meeting on U.S. soil is the most recent in a series of high-level contacts between Cuba and Russia throughout 2026.
In February, Rodríguez traveled to Moscow, where he met with Lavrov and President Vladimir Putin, who confirmed Russia's support for the Cuban regime.
Both foreign ministers held telephone conversations in March and met again in May on the sidelines of the BRICS foreign ministers' meeting in New Delhi, where Russia promised political and material support to Cuba.
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