Alwaght | News & Analysis Website

Alwaght- on Tuesday, May 5, Raul Castro the Cuban President began his official visit to Russia; he was officially invited by his Russian counterpart, "Vladimir Putin" to celebrate the seventieth anniversary of victory over fascism.
Since early 2009, this is the third time the Cuban president makes a visit to Russia; in that year, the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the principles of strategic partnership between their governments.
Russia's tendency towards Latin America is not a new story, it dates back to the days of the former Soviet Union. In this perspective, the only difference lies in Russia’s intentions. If the reason for the presence of the USSR in Latin America had an ideological nature; however, today especially after the rise of Vladimir Putin to power in 2000, Russia pursues top economic goals, and of course, competes with the US in its backyard, Cuba. Medvedev on his recent trip to Latin America, called Cuba and the Caribbean countries as the region of strategic interests for Russia, and signed several major contracts with top Cuban officials to reduce the Havana debts to Moscow.
Cuba has been the most loyal ally of Russia since the Cold War. In 1962, the island was the center for a strategic game between the US and the Soviet Union during the 13 days, in which the world was on the brink of a third world war and a nuclear disaster. As "Fidel Castro" had allowed the USSR to deploy its nuclear missiles on the island, only 145 kilometers from Florida. This dangerous game finally concluded with a peace treaty between the two superpowers in 1962. But since then, the US imposed tough sanctions against Cuba for years; however, with the USSR support, the country managed to prop up. During this period, trade between the two countries, the Soviet Union and Cuba at best reached $ 9 billion, but the business relationship suddenly stopped with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The rise of Gorbachev and the collapse of the Soviet Union had a significant impact on the Cuban economy, and the country's gross domestic product fell by 30 percent.
However, years after those events, the relations between Russia and Cuba has significantly progressed in all fields, from meetings between senior officials to joint projects in the fields of economy, tourism and culture. Moscow looks for the revival of relations with Cuba, and is ready to play a prominent role in the Cuban economy. A country whose economy has run into many difficulties due to the sanctions imposed by the US from 1962 onward. In the first step, in March, Russia wrote off 90 percent of Cuba's debts worth 23 billion and 300 million euros. As for the remaining 10 percent, which amounted to 2 billion 600 million euros, Cuba has pledged to make investments in joint economic projects with Russia over the next 10 years. Construction of a new deep-water container terminal in the Port of Mariel is one of these projects in Cuba. In this region, the Cubans have provided the most important infrastructure for gigantic cargo ships and a free trade zone to attract foreign investors. Medvedev, in a recent meeting with “Ricardo Cabrisas”, Vice President of Council of Ministers of Cuba, reiterated "Russia and Cuba relations are of comprehensive nature, and this Caribbean nation is one of the key partners of Russia in Latin America."
Therefore, we may conclude that a new era of Moscow-Havana relations has begun which mainly includes the development of bilateral relations in trade, economics, technology, and to some extent arms sales. It is noteworthy that arms are among the Russian export goods to Cuba. Therefore, visits made by Havana officials to Moscow are completely based on an economic approach aimed at strengthening bilateral relations. In other words, on one hand, Russia tries to take advantage of opportunities available in the Cuban market for its business interests, and on the other hand, with its established military presence in the region, change the internal and international community public opinion in favor of the Russian government.