HAVANA, April 24. /TASS/. Russia will continue to support Cuba in its demand to end the trade and economic blockade of the island, imposed more than 60 years ago by the United States, as soon as possible, Russian Ambassador to Havana, Victor Koronelli, stated.
"Russia will continue to support Cuba in its demand to end, as soon as possible, completely and unconditionally, the cruel and inhumane blockade the United States imposed on the island more than 60 years ago," the diplomat said at the opening ceremony of an exhibition of photographs and archival documents at the National Library of Cuba.
The event is dedicated to the 65th anniversary of the restoration of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
The diplomat stressed that today relations between the Russian Federation and Cuba "have received new impetus and are marked by active exchange in all areas."
"The political dialogue between our countries has further strengthened. In the coming weeks, we expect the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, President of Cuba Miguel Diaz-Canel, to visit Moscow, who will accompany us on the sacred day of May 9, Victory Day over fascism in the Great Patriotic War," Koronelli said. The Russian ambassador noted that Havana is a key ally of Moscow in Latin America and the Caribbean region.
The exhibition features over 100 archival shots depicting significant events in bilateral relations: the first visit of Cuban leader Fidel Castro to the USSR, the arrival of Yury Gagarin in Cuba, the joint space flight on the Soyuz-38 spacecraft of Soviet cosmonaut Yury Romanenko and the first Cuban cosmonaut Arnaldo Tamayo Mendez, and the consecration of the Church of Our Lady of Kazan in Havana. Diplomatic relations between Russia (USSR) and Cuba were restored on May 8, 1960.