Fidel Castro’s Son Backs Russia in Crimea Dispute

HAVANA TIMES — As Russia and the United States/European Union continue in dispute over the former’s annexation of Crimea and troop buildup near the Ukraine, visiting Fidel Castro Diaz-Balart made it clear where Cuba stands.

When receiving an honorary doctorate at the University in Voronezh this past weekend, Fidel’s son, a scientific adviser to the Cuban government and vice president of the island’s Academy of Sciences said in a speech: “During the UN vote, Cuba proved that it remains a friend of Russia and of other countries of the former Soviet Union forever,” reported the Moscow Times.

He also insisted that Cuba is also a friend of the Ukraine. “The people of Ukraine, as I understand it, do not have any claims against the Russians,” he said, following the Kremlin line. “It is those in power who are acting in their own self-interest.”

Castro advised Russia to stand firm noting that “Cuba has extensive experience of living in isolation from the US.”

The oldest son of Fidel and his first wife studied extensively in the Soviet Union starting in 1968.  He graduated in nuclear physics from Moscow State University and holds two doctorates, both from Russian nuclear instutions.

The Moscow Times said that Castro Diaz-Balart ended his talk with a quote from his father, “When all great revolutions come to an end, there will only be one left — the great revolution of science and knowledge. And it will never finish.”