The President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, received today in the Kremlin the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, who is on an official visit as a special envoy of the Cuban Party and Government, reported the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cubaminrex, and the news agency Prensa Latina.

During the meeting, Rodríguez Parrilla conveyed greetings from Army General Raúl Castro Ruz and from the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, and thanked Russia for its historic solidarity in the face of the economic, commercial and financial blockade and the energy siege imposed by the United States.

Putin affirmed that his nation has always stood alongside Cuba in defence of its sovereignty and independence, and recalled that this year marks the centenary of the birth of the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, Commander in Chief Fidel Castro Ruz, a commemoration that both countries will share.

«We have always been on Cuba’s side in its struggle for independence, for the right to follow its own path of development, and we have always supported the Cuban people,» emphasised the Russian president.

During the meeting at the Kremlin, they agreed on the will to strengthen bilateral relations in all sectors, reaffirmed Russia’s historic solidarity in the face of the blockade and energy siege imposed on Cuba, and highlighted the importance of working together in defence of international law, multilateralism and peace.

«Our relations are founded on a strategic relationship, especially in these moments that Cuba is experiencing; for years we have been working shoulder to shoulder. Our projects are going well and advancing for the benefit of our peoples,» noted the Cuban Foreign Minister.

The head of Cuban diplomacy also previously held talks with Sergei Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister, with whom he agreed on the will to work together in defence of international law, multilateralism and peace.

Rodríguez Parrilla warned that the Island faces a new threat derived from the United States executive order that declares it an unusual and extraordinary danger to the national security of that country, and reaffirmed Cuba’s determination to defend its independence and sovereignty.

The agenda also included meetings with Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council and President of the United Russia Party; Ivan Melnikov, First Vice President of the State Duma; and Dmitry Chernyshenko, Deputy Prime Minister and Co-Chair of the Russia-Cuba Intergovernmental Commission, who ratified Moscow’s unrestricted support for Havana.

The Cuban minister arrived in Moscow accompanied by Oscar Pérez-Oliva, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Investment, and Corps Army General Roberto Legrá, First Deputy Minister and Chief of the General Staff of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, among other officials.