Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Moscow does not accept sanctions against Cuba.

During a meeting with Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parilla in Moscow, Putin said that Russia expressed this position "openly, clearly and unequivocally" through the Foreign Ministry.

"And now there is a special period with new sanctions. You know how we feel about this; we will not accept anything like that. And the position of our Ministry of Foreign Affairs is expressed openly, clearly and unequivocally," he said.

Regarding bilateral relations, the president said that they are "developing on a generally positive path."

Putin stressed the "special" nature of relations between the two countries, saying that Russia has always "stood by Cuba's side in its struggle for independence."

"We know how difficult it has been all these years, all these decades, all these decades of Cuba's independence for the Cuban people in their fight for the right to live by their own rules and to defend their own national interests," he said.

After stopping oil from Mexico and Venezuela to Cuba and arresting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in the process, the US has imposed a fuel embargo on Cuba, deepening its acute shortages.

Washington has also announced its intention to impose proportional import tariffs on goods from countries that dare to supply fuel to Cuba.

The Russian embassy in Havana announced last week that Moscow will soon begin shipments of oil and petroleum products to Cuba as humanitarian aid.