MOSCOW, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- Russia has always supported Cuba and considers new restrictions against the country unacceptable, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday during a meeting with Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla.

According to the president, Russia and Cuba share special relations shaped by history, and Moscow consistently supports the Cuban people in their struggle for independence and their right to pursue their own development path.

Putin also said bilateral ties between the two countries are developing in a generally positive direction and expressed confidence that the meeting would provide an opportunity to discuss relations in detail.

Earlier on Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russia calls on the United States to refrain from imposing a naval blockade on Cuba.

On Jan. 29, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order threatening to impose tariffs on goods exported to the United States from countries supplying oil to Cuba. The Cuban government has announced a series of measures, including fuel purchase restrictions, in response to a new round of U.S. oil blockade.