Comment for the media by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov following the talks with Miguel Díaz-Canel, President of Cuba and First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, Havana, February 19, 2024
20 February 2024 01:57
310-20-02-2024
Question (translated from Spanish): Your talks with President Miguel Díaz-Canel lasted for about an hour. Could you share your opinion with us?
Sergey Lavrov: We covered the full spectrum of our relations and reviewed the results of extensive conversations with my colleague, Foreign Minister of Cuba Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla.
One important matter on the bilateral agenda is improving the legal and regulatory framework and practical projects concerning trade, the economy and investment links. A series of decisions have been made recently to strengthen the legal and regulatory framework, ensuring consistent progress in this area, specifically with respect to the supply of Russian oil and oil products, food and fertilisers to Cuba, which are now particularly important for the Cuban economy.
The significantly expanded opportunities for Russian businesses to invest in the Cuban economy are likewise noteworthy, laying a foundation for its long-term and steady development.
There are excellent prospects in tourism. President Miguel Díaz-Canel noted a steady rise in Russian tourists visiting your beautiful resorts. The country accepts payments using MIR cards, ensuring Russian visitors enjoy a fully comfortable stay. There are several flights from Russia to Cuba per week, and the number of flights can be increased in response to growing demand, which will certainly happen.
Russia and Cuba maintain intensive humanitarian cooperation, especially in education. Cuban students enjoy studying in Russia. We offer a very steady and attractive reimbursement programme for our Cuban friends studying in Russian universities.
Our traditional cultural exchanges are quite intensive. The Russian band Turetsky Choir and its women's ensemble, Soprano, will be touring Cuba at the beginning of summer.
We have many other plans, including sports exchanges. Our Cuban friends plan to participate in the Games of the Future phygital competition opening on February 21 in Kazan. The BRICS Games will take place in summer, followed by the World Friendship Games in autumn. Also in autumn, Russia will host the first Intervision popular song contest open to all interested countries.
This is just a small part of what our bilateral agenda holds in the short term. We will work to make it happen.
Russia and Cuba maintain intensive cooperation and coordinate their actions on all the key issues on the international agenda. Russia, our Cuban friends and other like-minded partners participate in the Group of Friends in Defence of the UN Charter. We present our views against dictate and illegitimate unilateral sanctions.
It is absolutely outrageous that the United States continues with its trade, economic and financial blockade of Cuba, an act condemned by literally all other members of the international community. We will continue to support each other in the UN, protecting the ideals enshrined in the UN Charter but remain ignored and undermined by Americans and their satellites.
Cuba is interested in closer relations with BRICS. As the country chairing BRICS this year, Russia will actively facilitate this process. We will also contribute to developing Cuba-EAEU relations. There are specific plans that member of the Eurasian Economic Commission Sergey Glazyev discussed during his visit to Cuba. These plans are about to be put on paper for the consideration of all EAEU members.
Naturally, we will continue our close cooperation across other sectors of international politics, coordinating our steps for the sake of affirming the ideals of justice and democracy in international relations.
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