Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel and Russian President Vladimir Putin meeting at the Kremlin on May 9, 2024. Photo: Presidency of Russia.
The meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Cuban counterpart, Miguel Díaz-Canel, was confirmed by Russian presidential advisor Yuri Ushakov.
Ushakov explained that Putin has three meetings scheduled with foreign leaders for Wednesday, May 7, and will begin his international agenda with Díaz-Canel, who is already in Moscow, the Russian capital, after having arrived in St. Petersburg. “Tomorrow there will be a meeting between the Cuban leader and our president,” the advisor said on May 6.
According to Ushakov, the Caribbean leader’s visit includes participation in commemorative events for the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany and the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
The Kremlin expects 17 leaders to attend the commemoration, which would double the attendance compared to 2024, when only eight leaders were present, including Díaz-Canel.
In addition to the Cuban leader, the presidents of China, Xi Jinping, Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and his Venezuelan counterpart, Nicolás Maduro, will participate.
Among the European attendees, only Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, and Bosnian Serb separatist leader Milorad Dodik will attend.
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The Cuban president departed for Russia on Saturday, May 3, after leading a political event and a military ceremony in the morning for the 80th anniversary of the victory over fascism, which took place at the Mausoleum of the Soviet Internationalist Soldier, located on the outskirts of the capital.
Díaz-Canel arrived at St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo International Airport on Sunday, May 4, where he met with the city’s governor, Alexander Beglov, on Monday, May 5. He and Beglov discussed the opening of direct flights between Havana and Russia’s second-largest city, with a view to increasing tourism.
During his stay in this Russian city, the Cuban president also visited two of the leading Russian companies dedicated to the research and production of innovative medicines. Díaz-Canel began the day at Biocad, recognized as Russia’s largest biotechnology company, specializing in the development of treatments for oncological, autoimmune, and rare diseases . Biocad has established a cooperative relationship with Cuba since 2019, and currently has three of its medicines registered on the island.
The Cuban president later moved to Geropharm, one of Russia’s leading companies producing insulin and medications for the treatment of diabetes and obesity.
With these visits, the Cuban president reaffirms his commitment to consolidating scientific and technological cooperation with Russia, promoting the development of the biopharmaceutical industry through strategic alliances that foster the research and production of essential medicines.
(TeleSUR)
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JB/SH
