Sometime next month, Russia’s Prime Minister, Dmitry Medvedev, is expected to travel to Cuba. His visit is likely to cement the two nations’ future bilateral relations. It comes after months of high-level exchanges on deeper economic and political cooperation and an intention to defend Cuba’s right to choose its own future.
This should come as no surprise.
Speaking in Havana in July, Russia’s Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, could not have been clearer. Moscow, he said, would strengthen its relations with Havana in the face of the difficult conditions it faces resulting from US pressure.
“We will continue to support Cuba, the people and Cuban leaders, not only through moral or political methods, but also through the development of co-operation and trade and economic projects that contribute to making the island’s economy more sustainable in the face of external attacks”, he told the media at the end of a two-day visit.