Moscow, Nov 20 (IANS): The Russian Foreign Ministry on Monday "strongly" criticised the US for imposing new sanctions on Cuba.

Such an action of the US, which is implementing the policy of heightening pressure on Havana, created additional obstacles for the socio-economic development of Cuba in the context of ongoing reforms in the country, the ministry said in a statement.

It recalled that the UN General Assembly on November 1 almost unanimously adopted a non-binding resolution urging the US to lift its embargo against Cuba, reports Xinhua news agency.

With the new sanctions, Washington is turning the overwhelming majority of the representatives of the world community even further away from itself, the Russian statement said.

The US State Department on November 14 announced to add 26 tourism-related subentities, including 16 hotels owned by the Cuban military, into its sanction list by barring Americans from visiting them.