Rome, April 15 (RHC)--The Senate of the Italian Republic approved on Wednesday a motion in favor of lifting the U.S. blockade against Cuba.

The motion was approved with the favorable vote of 172 of the 194 senators present at the conclave, reports the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs website.

Before being submitted to a vote, the text already had the support of more than 30 representatives of various political parties of the European nation.

In the motion, the Italian Senate asks the Government of this country to commit itself, together with other European Union countries, within this grouping and also in all multilateral scenarios -first and foremost, those of the United Nations- to eliminate the U.S. sanction mechanism against Cuba effectively.

The vice-president of the National Assembly of People's Power of Cuba, Ana María Mari Machado, thanked, through her Twitter account, the motion approved by the Italian Senate.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez today thanked the Italian Senate for approving a motion for the cessation of the U.S. siege against the Caribbean nation.

'We thank the Italian Senate for approving a motion in favor of lifting the U.S. economic, commercial and financial blockade against #Cuba,' the foreign minister wrote on his Twitter account.