MIAMI, United States. – Russian President Vladimir Putin assured this Tuesday in the Kremlin that Russia has “always” been on Cuba’s side “in its fight for independence” and in the “right to follow its own path of development,” during a meeting with the Foreign Minister of the Cuban regime, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, who is in Moscow as an envoy of the Cuban Communist Party (PCC) and the Government.
According to Latin PressPutin added that his Government and Russian society know “how difficult” it has been for Cuba to defend “more than six decades of sovereignty”, “fighting for its right to live by its own rules and defend its national interests.”
In that same exchange, Putin said: “We are in a special period, with new sanctions. You know what we think about it. We don’t accept anything like that.”
The visit and the tone of the meeting were presented by both parties as a strengthening of the bilateral relationship. In a post on XRodríguez Parrilla “profoundly” thanked Putin for receiving him “as a special envoy of the Party and Government of Cuba” and stated that he conveyed “a warm greeting from Army General Raúl Castro Ruz and President Miguel Díaz-Canel.”
In that message, the Cuban Foreign Minister maintained that they highlighted “the historical and fraternal nature of bilateral relations” and their alleged “willingness to continue consolidating them in all sectors.”
Prensa Latina reported that Putin assessed that relations between Moscow and Havana “are on a positive path” and recalled that 2026 marks the centenary of the birth of Fidel Castro (1926-2016), about which he stated: “We will celebrate it together.”
“Our relations are based on a strategic relationship, especially in these moments that Cuba is experiencing, we have been working shoulder to shoulder for years. Our projects are going well and advancing in pursuit of our people,” wrote Rodríguez Parrilla, who also noted that he felt “honored” to talk with Putin.
The report added that, before the meeting with Putin, Rodríguez held exchanges with Russian political, parliamentary and government leaders, among them Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who, according to Prensa Latina, reiterated that Russia will maintain “unrestricted support” for Havana in the face of the “blockade imposed by Washington.”
Rodríguez arrived in Moscow on the afternoon of February 17 and, according to Prensa Latina, his agenda will extend until this Thursday. The delegation of the Cuban regime includes the vice prime minister and minister of Foreign Investment Oscar Pérez-Oliva, and the vice minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and chief of the General Staff, Roberto Legrá, among other officials.
