Russia says Trump is using ‘Cold War rhetoric’ on Cuba

FILE - In this Friday, June 16, 2017, file photo President Donald Trump speaks about Cuba policy in Miami. The Trump Organization dissolved subsidiaries created to pursue business opportunities in Qatar six days after Donald Trump was inaugurated as America’s 45th president. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

FILE - In this Friday, June 16, 2017, file photo President Donald Trump speaks about Cuba policy in Miami. The Trump Organization dissolved subsidiaries created to pursue business opportunities in Qatar six days after Donald Trump was inaugurated as America’s 45th president. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

MOSCOW (AP) — The Russian Foreign Ministry has criticized President Donald Trump’s decision to freeze a detente with Cuba and his verbal attack on the Caribbean island’s leaders.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement Sunday that Trump is “returning us to the forgotten rhetoric of the Cold War.”

The statement says that “It’s clear the anti-Cuba discourse is still widely needed. This can only induce regret.”

Despite Trump’s campaign pledge to improve relations with Moscow, there has been no significant improvement in foreign policy cooperation between the two countries. Last week, the U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly to back new sanctions on Russia.

Moscow maintains close ties with Havana, and in March signed a deal to ship oil to Cuba for the first time in over a decade.