Fidel and Russia PM Meet in Havana

HAVANA TIMES — Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who arrived on Thursday for an official visit to the island, met with Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro on his first day in Havana.

This is the second time the two leaders have been in direct contact, this time described by the Granma newspaper as a “lively meeting.”

The former Russian president also held a meeting with Cuban President Raul Castro, where they reviewed the state of relations, officially considered excellent, and later attended the signing of a total of ten agreements in various areas.

Moscow was one of the major trading partners of the island after the 1959 revolution. Trade declined after the fall of the socialist bloc in the early 90s, but has been irregularly recovering ever since.