For the 27th time, the UN General Assembly has approved a resolution calling on the US to end its embargo of Cuba that has been in place for already more than 50 years. A total of 189 states voted to support the resolution, while the US and Israel voted against.

The US had proposed passing nine amendments to the resolution, but the UN General Assembly declined them.

Presenting the document, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said "the blockade is a blatant, massive and systematic violation of the rights of the Cuban people and is the main obstacle to the wellbeing of several generations".

"Blockade is an act of aggression and economic war that violates peace and global order, and is at variance with the aims and principles of the United Nations Charter," he added.

US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, for her part, said the embargo would not be lifted until Cuba showed respect for human rights.

In December 2014, the then US President Barack Obama admitted that Washington’s policy towards Havana was not working and declared the country would start moving towards normalizing bilateral relations and mitigating sanctions against Cuba. However, rapprochement moves have stalled after Donald Trump, an advocate of tougher policy towards Cuba, was elected as US President. He tightened the rules of trips to Cuba for the US nationals and banned business with the companies controlled by Cuban military.