Lavrov says that Cuba is Russia's most important ally in Latin America and the Caribbean

The chancellor of Russia,Sergey Lavrov, reaffirmed the Cuban government as his country's main ally in Latin America and the Caribbean.

At the beginning of his stay in the Caribbean nation and after meeting with his Cuban counterpart Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, Lavrov gave a press conference in Havana in which he spoke about the prospects of his visit to the country and the region.

"Cuba is our traditional partner, our most important ally in Latin America and the Caribbean. "We are satisfied with the very constructive and intense character of the Russian-Cuban political dialogue at all levels," Lavrov said, noting that he and Bruno Rodríguez maintain regular contacts, according to the news channel.RT (antigua Russia Today).

The head of Russian diplomacy said that the two countries intend to hold a meeting of the bilateral intergovernmental commission in the next two or three months, and added that doors are opening for Russia's insertion into various regional mechanisms such as theCommunity of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), theBolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America-Peoples' Trade Treaty and theCaribbean Community.

Regarding relations between both countries, Lavrov described them as “positive”, in ascenario where the Cuban government has shown its total support for the Russian war against Ukraine, although the chancellor did not specifically refer to that issue.

During the press conference he noted that the two countries “agree on the need to establish a more just and democratic world order, which is based on the principle of sovereign equality of States, which appears in the UN Charter, but that has not been respected by Western representatives in practically any of the situations that have occurred on the world stage since the creation of the UN.”

The Russian press reports that Lavrov expressed "his position of strong condemnation of the illegal commercial and economic blockade of the island by the United States" and that he accused that country and the European Union of a campaign of "anti-Russian hysteria."

Sergei Lavrov arrived in Havana this Monday, on his ninth visit to the country since his appointment to the position 20 years ago.

A briefuse of the Cuban Foreign Ministry indicated that "as part of the program, it is planned that the distinguished visitor will hold meetings" with the ruler Miguel Díaz-Canel and the one held with Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla.

Lavrov's visit to Havana, which will then continue to Venezuela and culminate in Brazil with participation in a meeting of foreign ministers of the member countries of the Group of 20, takes place a few days afterthe suspicious death in prison of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, and in the midst of a complex international panorama, with multiple sources of tension fueled byRussia after its invasion of Ukraine.

Cuba-Russia relations in the last year

Lavrov's last visit to Cuba took place in April 2023, after the restructuring that the Miguel Díaz-Canel government received for another five years in power.

On that occasion, the Russian Foreign Minister arrived in Havana, after visiting Brazil, Venezuela and Nicaragua, the countries that have opened their doors the most to Russia in the region since they increased sanctions against his government for the invasion of Ukraine more ago. one year, noted a report fromEuroNews.

Last November, Cuba and Russia signed acooperation agreement in the commercial and economic field until 2030, to "expand and deepen collaboration in various areas, including commercial, economic, scientific and technical spheres."

Russia, for its part, has said it intends to become thenumber one issuer of tourists to the Caribbean nation, andwill support the development of sugar harvests with machinery and credits, in addition to investments in the energy, transportation and food industry sectors, among others.

However, none of the major announcements by the Cuban regime regarding this cooperation have materialized, excepta rebound in Russian tourism on the island and the ostensible military cooperation between both regimes.

90 miles from the United States, Cuba continues to strengthen its military cooperation with Russia whiletension grows between both powers faced in the Ukrainian war scenario.

At the end of the year, it was known that the Russian president,Vladimir Putin could transfer "smart" cruise missiles to Cuba and Venezuela, with a range of up to 2,500 kilometers, targeting important infrastructure facilities on US soil in case of emergency, according to Kremlin spokesman Victor Baranets.

The Russian war propaganda apparatus refers more and more frequently to military cooperation with Cuba. All this at a time when thepresence of Cuban mercenaries in Ukraine Cubans' concern is increasing over possible secret agreements between Havana and Moscow in relation to that conflict.