Havana/Raúl Castro met this Tuesday with the Minister of the Interior of Russia, Vladimir Kolokoltsev, also a Police General. The official press published images of the meeting, in which the former Cuban president “conveyed affectionate greetings to President Vladimir Putin.”
During the meeting, in which General Lázaro Alberto Álvarez Casas and the Russian ambassador in Havana, Víktor Koronelli, were present, they spoke of “the excellent bilateral relations” between both countries.
The same idea was underlined by the president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, who highlighted the “enormous significance” of the visit due to “the moment in which it is made,” according to the Presidency.
The same idea was underlined by the president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, who highlighted the “enormous significance” of the visit due to “the moment in which it is made,” according to the Presidency.
In a meeting with the Russian minister, Díaz-Canel pointed out the “greater complexity” of this moment, as well as “a situation greatly impacted by the events of January 3 in Venezuela”, when the United States carried out a military attack on Caracas, which resulted in the capture of the president, Nicolás Maduro and the death of 32 Cuban soldiers.
The island president recalled that in Kolokóltsev’s previous visit – in November 2023 – Cuba “was facing the tightening of the blockade, a broad campaign of media intoxication and the impacts of its inclusion in the spurious list of countries supposedly sponsoring terrorism,” and stated that “all of this now remains in place.”
“This visit is one more expression of all the sensitivity of the Russian Federation, the party, the Government, the armed institutions and you. There is sensitivity, understanding of our situation, and willingness to help and cooperate,” Díaz-Canel stressed.
In addition, he stressed “the relevance” of this visit in the midst of “the complex world situation.”
The arrival of the Russian minister to the Island It takes place amid the escalation of tensions between Havana and Washington following the US military operation in Venezuela.
The president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, declared last Thursday in the Kremlin that Moscow stands in solidarity with Cuba for “its determination to defend its sovereignty and independence.”
“I would like to highlight that Russia and the Republic of Cuba maintain truly solid and friendly relations. We have always provided and continue to provide assistance to our Cuban friends,” said the Russian leader.
“I would like to highlight that Russia and the Republic of Cuba maintain truly solid and friendly relations. We have always provided and continue to provide assistance to our Cuban friends”
Starting his agenda in Havana this Tuesday, Kolokóltsev laid a wreath at the mausoleum dedicated to 69 young Soviet people who died in Cuba between 1960 and 1964 during collaboration missions, according to state media on the island. He also paid tribute to the Cuban military recently deceased in Venezuela.
Havana and Moscow signed a military cooperation agreement in March 2025 that establishes the bases to “facilitate the development and strengthening of military cooperation” between both countries, as well as “provides the legal basis to define the objectives, areas and modalities” of that bilateral collaboration.
Russia is a political ally of Cuba since the Soviet era of the Cold War and one of its main trading partners. Both sides have highlighted their ties as a “strategic partnership.”
The bilateral relationship has become even closer in recent times when the island is experiencing its worst economic crisis in three decades, with shortages of basic goods and an inflationary spiral, accentuated by the structural weaknesses of its production and the recurring failures of its electrical system.
Russia also had a Strategic Partnership and Cooperation Agreement with Venezuela which, however, has not served to make Moscow intervene in favor of Maduro other than to launch occasional criticisms against the US operation.
