Trump OKs Russia Oil to Cuba  03/30 05:57

   President Donald Trump on Sunday night said he has "no problem" with a 
Russian oil tanker off the coast of Cuba delivering relief to the island, which 
has been brought to its knees by a U.S. oil blockade.

   ABOARD AIRFORCE ONE (AP) -- President Donald Trump on Sunday night said he 
has "no problem" with a Russian oil tanker off the coast of Cuba delivering 
relief to the island, which has been brought to its knees by a U.S. oil 
blockade.

   "We have a tanker out there. We don't mind having somebody get a boatload 
because they need ... they have to survive," Trump told reporters as he flew 
back to Washington.

   When asked if a New York Times report that the tanker would be allowed to 
reach Cuba was true, Trump said: "I told them, if a country wants to send some 
oil into Cuba right now, I have no problem whether it's Russia or not."

   On Monday, Russia's Transport Ministry said the oil tanker Anatoly Kolodkin 
arrived at the Cuban port of Matanzas carrying "humanitarian supplies" of about 
730,000 barrels of oil.

   The vessel is sanctioned by the United States, the European Union and the 
United Kingdom following the war in Ukraine.

   Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday that Russia had previously 
discussed its oil shipment to Cuba with the United States. "Russia considers it 
its duty not to stand aside, but to provide the necessary assistance to our 
Cuban friends," he told reporters.

   Trump, whose government has come at its Caribbean adversary more 
aggressively than any U.S. government in recent history, has effectively cut 
Cuba off from key oil shipments in an effort to force regime change. The 
blockade has had devastating effects on the civilians Trump and Secretary of 
State Marco Rubio say they want to help, leaving many desperate.

   Islandwide blackouts have roiled Cubans already grappling with years of 
crisis, and a lack of gasoline and basic resources has crippled hospital and 
slashed public transport.

   Experts say the anticipated shipment could produce about 180,000 barrels of 
diesel, enough to feed Cuba's daily demand for nine or 10 days.

   Cuba has long been at the heart of geopolitical tug-of-war between the U.S. 
and Russia, dating back decades. Trump on Sunday dismissed the idea that 
allowing the boat to reach Cuba would help Russian President Vladimir Putin.

   "It doesn't help him. He loses one boatload of oil, that's all it is. If he 
wants to do that, and if other countries want to do it, it doesn't bother me 
much," Trump said. "It's not going to have an impact. Cuba's finished. They 
have a bad regime. They have very bad and corrupt leadership and whether or not 
they get a boat of oil, it's not going to matter."

   He added: "I'd prefer letting it in, whether it's Russia or anybody else 
because the people need heat and cooling and all of the other things."