The Cuban head of state, Miguel Díaz-Canel, recently met with Vladimir Putin in Russia, whereupon the Russian President inaugurated a statue of Fidel Castro.
During that event, Díaz-Canel chose to address the role of the U.S. in the Russian-Ukrainian War:
Cuba strongly condemns the unilateral sanctions that are today being unjustly imposed upon the Russian Federation. The causes of the current conflict in this region are to be sought in the aggressive policy on the part of the United States and NATO, even unto Russia’s borders, which Cuba has systematically denounced in international forums.
Putin, for his part, declared:
The Soviet Union and Russia have always supported, and continue to support, the Cuban people in their struggle for independence and sovereignty. We have always opposed all kinds of restrictions, embargoes and blockades. We have always supported Cuba on the international scene and we see Cuba adopting the same position with regards to us Russia. All of this is fruit to the traditional friendship established by comrade Fidel Castro.
This exchange between the two leaders occurs in the context of Russia’s strong position in Latin America and general support for that continent’s Left, via the São Paulo Forum, whereas Cuba stands to gain from the continuance of this relationship, having received, according to La Gaceta de la Iberosfera, more than €2.3 billion in credit from Russia by 2020.
