Cuban President Diaz-Canel Visits Putin in the Kremlin

He wishes him “success” in his war in Ukraine

The Cuban leader was the only Westerner present at the Victory Day parade, alongside leaders from six former Soviet republics and those from Laos and Guinea-Bissau.

By EFE/14ymedio

HAVANA TIMES – “We wish success to the Russian Federation in its special military operation.” This is how Miguel Diaz-Canel began his meeting in the Kremlin on Thursday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, referring to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The two held a meeting with the goal of “addressing the development of bilateral relations between the two nations in diplomatic, political, and economic spheres,” according to official media.

“For us, this visit, like previous ones to the Russian Federation,” constitutes “a satisfaction and a moment of learning,” declared Diaz-Canel, before handing Putin a congratulatory letter from Raul Castro. The Cuban president compared the situations of the two countries, lamenting that the island is the target of a “maximum pressure policy” from the United States and denouncing that there is a worldwide “media intoxication about the Cuban Revolution in the same way that happens to Russia”.

Similarly, he emphasized that Russia “will always” be able to count on the support of its Cuban “friends” and “brothers,” and condemned “the threat of NATO’s closeness to Russia’s borders.”

Díaz-Canel was the only Western leader who accompanied Putin at the military parade celebrating the victory over Nazi Germany. At the event, which commemorates the fallen Russians in World War II, were the presidents of six former Soviet republics, including Belarus and Kazakhstan, as well as the leaders of Laos and Guinea-Bissau.

At the end of the parade in Red Square, the leaders walked to the Alexander Gardens to lay a floral offering at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, located at the foot of the Kremlin walls.

Putin and Diaz-Canel had the opportunity to converse with the help of an interpreter, as seen on television. Subsequently, the Kremlin chief and his guests of honor moved to the Kremlin.

The leaders of the European Union countries (which celebrate their day today), the US, and Canada did not attend the parade, in which soldiers who had fought in the war with Ukraine participated.

More than 9,000 soldiers participated in the parade, which began, as usual, at 10:00 AM, along with around 70 combat equipment, including Yars intercontinental missiles.

Putin, the supreme commander of the Armed Forces, presided over the event after taking office on Tuesday as the Kremlin chief for a fifth six-year term.

In his speech in Red Square, he criticized Western vindictiveness but assured that Russia would do everything possible to avoid a “worldwide confrontation,” while warning that Russian strategic forces are “always” in combat readiness.

In a clear reference to the United States and NATO, Putin emphasized that Moscow rejects the claims “of any country or alliance to exclusivity.”

“We will not allow anyone to threaten us,” he said, after ordering a minute of silence for the fallen in the global conflict in which the Soviet Union lost between 1941 and 1945, more than 26 million people, including civilians and soldiers.

He accused “Western elites” of justifying “current followers of the Nazis,” which is part of a policy of instigating regional conflicts, hostility among peoples and religions, and containing new independent development centers.

Putin denounced attempts by “Western colonialists” to “distort” the truth about World War II by dismantling monuments to Soviet soldiers and placing “traitors and collaborators” of Hitler on a pedestal.

Still, he noted that Russia has never downplayed the importance of the role of Western allies in defeating Nazism and also recalled China’s struggle against Japanese imperialism. “We will never forget our common struggle and the inspiring traditions of alliance,” he emphasized.

On Wednesday, Díaz-Canel had his first meeting with Putin at the Eurasian Economic Union summit, where he attended as an observer alongside Uzbek Shavkat Mirziyóyev.

“Over the last ten years, our union has established itself as one of the independent and self-sufficient centers of the emerging multipolar world,” said the Russian president. Also in attendance were the leaders of Kazakhstan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, and Armenia, the latter amidst ongoing tensions.

In his speech, Diaz-Canel first congratulated Putin on his inauguration and called it a “great honor” to participate in the summit in person for the first time.

He also noted that yesterday marked 64 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Cuba and Russia and emphasized the great importance the island places on economic and commercial cooperation with the Eurasian Economic Union.

Diaz-Canel stated that, since the Eurasian Economic Union is a “successful” and “attractive” project, Cuba, as an observer, proposes greater integration with the bloc.

In his first international meeting since his inauguration, the Kremlin chief praised the fact that the bloc has achieved “food security” by ensuring the “uninterrupted” supply of the most basic agricultural products and highlighted the positive implementation of the trade agreement with China.

He highlighted that countries such as Egypt, Indonesia, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as organizations such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and ASEAN, have shown interest in establishing free trade relations with the Eurasian Economic Union.

Putin emphasized in his speech that over the last ten years, the GDP of Eurasian Economic Union member countries has increased from US $1.6 to $2.5 trillion.

Trade within the bloc has increased by nearly 50% to $923 billion, and trade with third countries by 60%.

Moreover, trade within the bloc has increased by nearly 50% to $923 billion, and trade with third countries by 60%.

“The Eurasian Economic Union is today an effective and dynamic integrating structure whose activity contributes to the increase in trade and investment, activates business contacts and cooperation ties, ultimately bringing real benefits to its members,” he emphasized.

Since 2014, the Eurasian Economic Union has signed agreements with countries such as China, Vietnam, Serbia, and Iran, as well as numerous regional blocs like Mercosur and bilateral memorandums with Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Morocco, and South Korea.

The economy of the Eurasian Economic Union grew by 3.8% last year, a figure that almost matches the increase in Russian GDP (3.6%).

Read more from Cuba here on Havana Times.