PARIS (Reuters) - Europe would respond to any sanctions by the U.S. government on investments in Cuba, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Thursday.

“If the American administration decided to also impose a regime of sanctions on investments in Cuba, in contravention of what has been decided for several years now by our American allies, we would react. Europe would also react and is ready to also impose sanctions at our end,” Le Maire said at a business event organized by Le Monde newspaper.

On Wednesday, Washington imposed new sanctions and other punitive measures on Cuba and Venezuela, seeking to ratchet up pressure on Havana to end its support for Venezuela’s socialist president, Nicolas Maduro.