Putin meets Cuban leader

Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday met Cuba’s President Miguel Diaz-Canel who was making his first official visit to long-term ally Moscow. His trip came a day after the United States, which has slapped several rounds of sanctions on Russia, imposed new economic restrictions on Cuba.

Diaz-Canel took office in April in a historic transition of power on the Caribbean island, succeeding Raul Castro, who took over from his elder brother Fidel, father of the 1959 revolution. Cold War ally Moscow has affirmed “unshakeable solidarity” with Communist Cuba and last year criticised US President Donald Trump for reversing his predecessor Barack Obama’s deal to restore ties with Havana.

In a brief joint statement after their meeting in the Kremlin, Putin praised “friendship, mutual support and help” which mark the two countries’ relations through the decades, and said the two leaders had “substantive and effective talks”. Diaz-Canel invited Putin to visit Cuba in 2019 and said he would assure the continuity of the “legacy” of the relations between Moscow and Havana.