Havana, Cuba.- On Tuesday, Cuban Ambassador to France Otto Vaillant met with French university students and professors to debate Cuba´s real issues, bilateral relations as well as the impact of the hostile U.S. blockade.

At the School of Law, Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University, the Cuban diplomat made a presentation and exchanged standpoints with a great number of college students.

Vaillant explained hostility imposed by successive U.S. administrations since the triumph of the Revolution on January 1, 1959, and damages caused by the economic, commercial, and financial blockade against Cuba.

In this regard, Vaillant stated that regardless of who is ruling at the White House, the reality is that all US president has failed to recognize the right of the Cuban people to independence and self-determination.

The Cuban ambassador praised Cubans´ resistance ahead of Washington’s aggressiveness, which was tightened amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

While the world was fighting off the pandemic, Cuba was also fighting off the hostile blockade, and despite its negative effects, the Island created its homegrown Covid-19 vaccines to protect its population, Vaillant stated.

As for France-Cuba relations, Vaillant said that both nations have shown 120 years of nonstop bilateral relations, although both suffer the effects of the extraterritoriality U.S. blockade.