Cuban President Raul Castro on Wednesday arrived in Russia aiming to revive Soviet-era ties on the first visit by a Cuban leader since the Cold War. The visit comes as both countries watch for change in the foreign policy of the United States, which came under heavy Russian criticism in the era of George W. Bush and which maintains a blockade of the Communist island.
Castro, who took over as president from his ailing brother Fidel in 2006 and arrived in a Russian presidential plane dispatched from Moscow, said his visit would expand relations with Russia - healing a rift that appeared with the Soviet Union's collapse and the end of Soviet subsidies. "We know what happens on the planet when equality is destroyed, when they start wars, attacks and are unjust in their relations," he said in a clear reference to the United States, quoted by ITAR-TASS.
"We, like many others, see Russia's rebirth as a positive factor," Castro told the Russian news agency. "Relations between Russia and Cuba are excellent and this visit to Moscow will serve to strengthen ties between our countries." Castro's visit begins in earnest when he is hosted on Thursday by President Dmitry Medvedev at a country residence west of Moscow usually used for special guests of the Russian leader.
Formal talks between the two delegations will take place the following day at the Kremlin. Relations already took a turn for the better last November when Medvedev visited Havana on a Latin American tour aimed at restoring what he called "privileged" Soviet-era relations with the region.
In December a group of Russian warships visited Havana on a tour seen as a deliberate attempt to challenge US dominance in Latin America, although US officials have remained sanguine about such Russian manoeuvres. On the current visit the focus will be on tying up a raft of business deals that include plans for a Russian consortium to explore oil fields off Cuba's coast in the Gulf of Mexico and plans for co-operation in nickel production on the island, officials have said.
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