Greece abstains on UN vote to lift US embargo on Cuba, as support falls to 130 votes

The vote in the General Assembly

The UN General Assembly adopted its yearly resolution calling for an end to the US economic, commercial and financial embargo on Cuba on Wednesday, 28 October. The text passed with 130 votes in favour, 17 against and 25 abstentions. A year earlier the same resolution drew 165 votes in favour, 7 against and 12 abstentions. Reports differ on how far back the drop reaches: Nautemporiki describes the support as the lowest in 20 years, while NEWS 24/7 and ΣΚΑΪ place it at the lowest number of yes votes in 30 years and the fewest since 1995. Havana had accused Washington for weeks of a diplomatic campaign to persuade countries to withdraw their backing for the non-binding text. This year's resolution also referred to the effects of the oil blockade the United States has imposed on the island for the past nine months.

2026 in favour130

2026 against17

2026 abstentions25

2025 in favour165

2025 against7

2025 abstentions12

2026 in favour

130 votes

2026 against

17 votes

2026 abstentions

25 votes

2025 in favour

165 votes

2025 against

7 votes

2025 abstentions

12 votes

Data from the article text

Greece's abstention and the domestic reaction

Greece abstained for the first time on this resolution, placing it alongside Germany, Italy and other countries, according to NEWS 24/7. France, the United Kingdom and Spain voted in favour. Greece holds a non-permanent seat on the Security Council and its presidency in October, and the prime minister and foreign minister are in New York this week. Dimitris Mantzos, PASOK's foreign affairs sector head, asked the foreign ministry to justify the change. He argued that Greece had sided with a minority of states while France, Spain, Portugal, the United Kingdom and Canada backed the text.

“The decision of the Greek government to abstain, for the first time, from the UN General Assembly resolution on ending the unilateral American blockade of Cuba raises reasonable questions.”

The Communist Party of Greece (KKE) went further, saying the abstention broke with a pattern of support that had lasted 33 years. Its International Relations Department called the stance contemptible.

“Its stance is contemptible and unacceptable.”

The party tied the vote to the government's wider foreign policy and to NATO, arguing that it helps legitimise the blockade and prepares support for a possible military intervention, citing threats from the Trump administration.

A clash on the General Assembly floor

On Tuesday, 27 October, during the annual debate on the embargo, US Ambassador Mike Waltz and Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla traded harsh words in the chamber. Waltz urged member states to reject the resolution and accused the Cuban government of years of corruption. Members of the Cuban delegation began banging their desks and demanding the floor on a point of order. Reports say Rodríguez walked toward the front of the hall and called Waltz a liar, while Waltz told him that this was America and that he would not accept intimidation. The General Assembly president suspended the session briefly. When it resumed, Rodríguez was allowed to speak on a procedural matter on condition that he did not respond to Waltz's substance, and Waltz finished his speech without a further serious incident.

Havana's and Washington's accounts

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel wrote on X that the world had once again voted by majority against the blockade despite pressure from the United States. In the chamber, Rodríguez accused Washington of wanting to determine the fate of Cuba and to appropriate its wealth, saying the blockade punishes the population more silently than ever. Waltz denied that any blockade exists and blamed the shortages on a corrupt communist regime. He said the US sold goods worth 875 million dollars between January and August, including fuels, to private sector companies in Cuba, and that the phrase 'private sector' irritated the communist government.