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International consultations continued in an expanded format with the members of the two countries’ delegations.

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Beginning of the Russian-Cuban talks

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Your Excellency Comrade Diaz-Canel, friends.

We are delighted to see you in Russia and in Moscow. Thank you for finding the opportunity to attend the parade marking the 79^th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War. I would like to emphasise something that may be overlooked by some: Cuban patriots also contributed to the fight against Nazism and fought on the frontlines of the Great Patriotic War. They fought for Leningrad in the most challenging hotspots, including the Neva Bridgehead. We remember this, we know this, and we will always respect those who stood shoulder to shoulder with our forefathers in their battle against Nazism.

Yesterday, you attended the meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council, which is part of the Eurasian Economic Union, one of the most effective associations in the post-Soviet space. Cuba takes part in these meetings as an observer state and I hope that this brings about tangible results.

Russia’s relations with Cuba are based on the feelings of friendship and mutual respect. It has always been this way. We have always shown support for the people of Cuba and rejected the continuing and long-standing attempts by the United States to restrain Cuba in its development and harm its economy by imposing illegal sanctions and restrictions. The people of Cuba have been resisting these attempts for decades now and have remained confident in their efforts.

We have the opportunity to discuss our relationship in all its aspects. Once again, we are delighted to see you. Welcome!

President of the Republic of Cuba Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez (retranslated): Thank you very much for your words.

Mr President, my dear friend

As always, this visit to the Russian Federation is very pleasing to us, and an event that serves for us to learn a lot.

This is a special visit as it is one of several commemorative dates and anniversaries that we have celebrated together. First, we would like to express words of gratitude for your invitation to participate in the meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council and the celebrations of the 79th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War.

We arrived in Moscow just as you were being sworn in as President. We have already congratulated you on that occasion on behalf of our nation and the government. On behalf of our party, I have brought you a letter of greetings from Army General Raul Castro Ruz.

Then, as you have mentioned, we had the opportunity to take part in a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council. I was attending it in person for the first time; in recent years, we always participated in it via videoconference. This has been an event where we learned about many opportunities.

The Council’s meeting took place exactly on the organisation’s tenth anniversary. It is a platform to coordinate actions between a group of countries, all of them friendly to Cuba. We all have immense potential for complementing each other, interacting and advancing.

I met many leaders of the countries who I had only heard about or seen on the screen. Frankly, this was a unique occasion for us. Thank you for the opportunity to be present with you and other friends at such an essential event as the celebrations to mark the 79th anniversary of Victory, a particularly important date not only for Russia but for all humankind. Our visit is also evidence of our commitment to the ideals that the Soviet Union, and later Russia, stood up for. This is particularly relevant today, when attempts are being made to rewrite and distort history and to erase the historical memory of nations in the pursuit of their hegemonic policy, which is also based on cultural colonisation carried out by the US government. Being here means seeing the roots of that victory over Nazism. It was an immense feat by the Soviet people, and many are now trying to steal the credit for that victory – but this is just empty rhetoric that is far from historical truth.

These events are also taking place when we are celebrating 64 years since the Soviet Union and Cuba established their relations, which have been carried on between the Russian Federation and Cuba.

This visit is also taking place at a very challenging time for the Cuban revolution. We are facing the maximum pressure from the US government, which is manifested in two main aspects, in our opinion.

The first one involves attempts to economically stifle Cuba, which are rooted in historical Mallory Memorandum of the 1960s. Lester Mallory, who was a deputy assistant secretary in the US State Department, saw that the revolution enjoyed immense support from the population and claimed that the only solution would be stifling Cuba economically for its people to suffer a large deficit and extensive restrictions, in order to separate the population from the revolution and provoke a social explosion and ultimately the end of the revolution.

The next aspect is the smear campaign by the media against the Cuban revolution. Just as they attack Russia, they make constant attempts to discredit Cuba. The United States coordinates actions by various media outlets as well as social networks. These are very evil practices, with attacks aimed at damaging the reputation of certain figures, disseminating false news, and distorting and manipulating all these events.

The first aspect can be seen in the efforts to tighten trade and economic blockade against Cuba. All the measures remain in effect; they were tightened during the Trump period and are still in effect now during the Biden administration, drastically affecting food supplies, the energy system, fuel availability, medications, infrastructure, and development institutions.

But we will hold on. The Cuban people will not give up; they have gained experience in their struggle and resistance. This one is a creative resistance as we are not only standing up against them but are also building and introducing our innovations.

So, we will hold on and will continue to defend our social and economic progress. But we are doing this amidst very challenging and hard conditions. So, we would like to share views on this situation with you as our friends and brothers.

The Russian Federation can always count on Cuba’s support. We always condemn geopolitical manipulations by the US government as well as the threat of NATO approaching Russia’s borders.

We wish you and the Russian Federation success in conducting the special military operation.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you very much.

You know that the Soviet Union and now Russia have always been on your side, supporting the Cuban people in their fight for their interests and their Motherland.

The recent vote at the UN on lifting the American economic embargo of Cuba revealed that the vast majority of countries support Cuba as well. Only two countries voted against, and one country abstained, but it actually supported the opposing states. These are only three countries. Everyone else is on Cuba’s side, and that means a lot.

But obviously, the Cuban people carry the major burden in this struggle. We will now discuss this as well as the development of our relations in a number of areas.

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