UN Warns Cuba Could 'Collapse' If U.S. Oil Blockade Continues: 'Extremely Concerned'

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned Cuba could "collapse" if the U.S.'s blockade on oil shipment continues.

Stephane Dujarric, a spokesman for Guterres, told press that the secretary general is "extremely concerned about the humanitarian situation" in the Caribbean country, which will "worsen, if not collapse, if its oil needs go unmet."

Dujarric went on to say Guterres is urging "all parties to pursue dialogue and respect for international law."

Tensions run high in the region as a report from the Financial Times last week claimed that the country has less than a month worth of oil at current levels of demand and domestic production.

Citing data company Kpler, the outlet noted on January 29 that the country had oil to last 15 to 20 days unless deliveries resume. "They have a major crisis on their hands" Jorge Piñon, an oil expert at the University of Texas told the outlet.

The country has only received less than 85,000 barrels this year, according to the FT. All came from a shipment on January 9, Kpler detailed. The figure adds to an estimated 460,000 barrels held in inventories at the beginning of the year.

President Donald Trump has been urging the beleaguered country to engage before its stock runs out completely.

"I think they'll probably come to us and want to make a deal. So Cuba will be free again. They'll come to us and make a deal. Cuba really has a problem. I know a lot of people from Cuba. We have a lot of people in the U.S. right now who would like to go back to Cuba. We'd like to work that out," Trump said during the weekend."

Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio, on his end, rejected reports that the country is taking steps towards formal negotiations with the U.S. but acknowledged there are conversations.

Speaking to Spanish agency EFE, the official said that "the U.S. government is perfectly aware of Cuba's stance and its willingness to engage in dialogue and has not rejected that."

He went on to claim that it "would be a mistake" to say steps are being taken towards bilateral talks because such a dialogue "has not begun."

"There has to be a willingness to ensure and design a dialogue that is serious, constructive, responsible and respectful of both states' sovereign equality," de Cossio added.

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