Medvedev denies that Russia is going to install a military base in Cuba

Russian Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev denied this Saturday that his country is going to install a Russian military base in Cuba, and clarified that this issue was not discussed during his recent two-day visit to Havana, reported Russia Today.

The official did not make reference to the establishment of any permanent military support point on the Island when he revealed to the press the topics he discussed in his meeting with Raúl Castro.

These statements are in line with what was expressed by an official from the Russian Foreign Ministry in November of last year, who described as "pure fiction" the information that suggested that Moscow could reopen its former military base in Cuba, faced with the danger that the United States would place its missiles in European territory.

Medvedev also stressed that there are no plans for Russian warships to escort the oil tankers that transport fuel to the Island, as a way to avoid the sanctions of the North American administration against ships and companies that supply oil to the Cuban government.

“I think we will find other methods to help Cuba receive oil and its derivatives,” he said.

The leader stated that Your country will help the Caribbean nation to receive oil and its derivatives, although he specified that no collaboration would be free.

In that sense, he stressed that the Cuban administration pays its debt to Russia and that it will continue to do so, according to what President Miguel Díaz-Canel assured him.

“Our Cuban friends pay the debt, unlike the situation that was 20 or 30 years ago, in Soviet times,” he told the state channel VGTRK.

“All our relations are now quite pragmatic, although they are friendly and based on the historical past, but nevertheless, these are relations between modern states. “The Soviet Union is no longer there, Cuba is changing and it is not about any irrevocable aid that would then have to be cancelled,” he added.

This trip by the official to Havana had the objective of signing several bilateral agreements and commercial contracts. Cuba is interested in strengthening cooperation in "areas of trade, economy, investment, energy, transportation, as well as in the cultural and humanitarian spheres."