Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin unveiled a three-meter-high bronze monument to Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro in the presence of Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel on Tuesday.
Castro, who died in 2016, was “one of the brightest and most charismatic leaders of the stormy and dramatic 20th century,” Putin said, according to the agency Interfax. “A truly legendary personality.” In their last conversation in 2014, Castro stressed that every people “has the right to develop freely and to choose its own path” and that “in a truly just world there is no place for coercion, theft and neo-colonialism,” Putin said. .
Almost nine months ago, Russia launched an offensive war against neighboring Ukraine. Putin denied Ukraine’s historic independence. For the heavily indebted Caribbean island of Cuba, Russia is one of the closest allies and major donors. The Kremlin described Cuba, which has not condemned Russia’s war in Ukraine, as a “very important partner”.
(SDA)