Cuban foreign minister speaks to Chinese, Russian counterparts

March 12 (Reuters) - Cuban ‌Foreign Minister Bruno ​Rodriguez ​spoke by telephone to his counterparts from both China and Russia on Thursday, three days ‌after U.S. President Donald Trump said the Communist ⁠island was in "deep trouble".

Trump, speaking to reporters on Monday, said U.S. ‌Secretary of State Marco ‌Rubio was dealing with the issue which may or may not be a "friendly takeover".

Cuba has faced blackouts and ​fuel shortages amid an oil embargo imposed by the United States.

Russia's Foreign Ministry, in a statement on ⁠its website, said Minister Sergei Lavrov "confirmed Russia's principled position as regards the unacceptability ​of the U.S. exerting economic and political pressure on Cuba."

The Russian statement said that in ​the conversation, initiated by Cuba, "support was ‌expressed for the fraternal Cuban people in defending their state sovereignty and their right ⁠to choose their own path of development."

Earlier in the day, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova condemned what she described ⁠as blackmail and threats by Trump against Cuba, a traditional ally of ​Moscow.

Rodriguez met Russian President Vladimir Putin and Lavrov during a visit to Moscow last month. Putin described the restrictions placed on ‌the island as "unacceptable".

China's state-run Xinhua news agency said Rodriguez had requested the call with ‌Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Xinhua said the two sides "agreed to continue ⁠to advance the development ‌of bilateral relations."

(Reporting ​by Xiuhao Chen and Ryan Woo in Beijing; Editing by Toby Chopra, Ron Popeski and Tom ‌Hogue)

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