HAVANA, June 6. /TASS/. The widespread use of the Russian language, shared history, extensive economic and interpersonal ties create a solid foundation for strengthening integration processes in the European space, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in his congratulatory message on the Russian Language Day.

The text of the congratulatory message was read on Wednesday in Havana at the opening of an international scientific and practical conference dedicated to the 225th anniversary of the birth of great Russian poet Alexander Pushkin. The forum was organized by a group of Russian language specialists of the Cuban Association of Linguists with the assistance of the Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States Affairs, Compatriots Living Abroad, and International Humanitarian Cooperation (Rossotrudnichestvo) and the Russian Embassy in Cuba.

"On June 6, we mark the 225th anniversary of the birth of great Russian poet Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin, and on the same date, we celebrate the Russian Language Day," the message states.

"World-renowned achievements in the Russian culture and science were created in the native language of Alexander Pushkin, Leo Tolstoy, Fyodor Dostoevsky, and Ivan Turgenev," the message reads. "The role of the Russian language as a means of interethnic and international communication is hard to overestimate: today, more than 250 million people worldwide speak it. Its demand is confirmed by its wide use as an official or working language in various multilateral structures. The Russian Language Day is included in the international calendar of significant dates of the UN within the framework of the program for the development of multilingualism and cultural diversity."

"The widespread use of the Russian language, shared history, and extensive economic and interpersonal ties create a solid foundation for strengthening integration processes in the European space," the message emphasizes. The minister particularly highlighted the creation of the International Organization for the Russian Language, established in October last year at the initiative of Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, which is ready to open its doors for all countries without exception.

The Russian foreign minister expressed "deep gratitude to public representatives, Russian compatriots living abroad, and numerous friends of Russia who contribute to the preservation of the Russian-speaking space and the promotion of cultural and historical heritage of our motherland."

"I am convinced that the celebration of the Russian Language Day, coinciding with the anniversary of the great poet, will contribute to the development of interstate humanitarian cooperation and the promotion of friendship and trust between peoples," the minister emphasized.

Conference in Havana

More than 100 people participated in the forum in the Cuban capital: experts from Russia, Colombia, Venezuela, and Cuba, students and professors from the University of Havana, researchers and members of the Group of Russian Language Specialists in Cuba, and representatives from Rossotrudnichestvo.

The conference participants discussed problems encountered in teaching Russian to foreign students and proposed various methods and opportunities for the promotion and preservation of the Russian language abroad.

The main topics of the forum were translation and translation activities. Participants analyzed Spanish translations of various works by Pushkin and their stylistic features.