Russia and Cuba took a step towards the revival of their old friendship as the two countries signed a package of bilateral agreements after Friday's top-level Kremlin talks.
At the start of the talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, visiting Cuban leader Raul Castro recalled the Caribbean state's long-standing ties with the Cold War ally.
"We are old friends, we've known each other through good times and bad, and have great experience," Castro said. "Today is an historic moment, an important landmark in relation between Russia and Cuba."
"The strategic partnership which we have agreed on in the communique reflects what we have reached and what we will seek in the future," the 77-year-old Cuban leader said, referring to a strategic partnership pact signed by the two leaders after their talks.
Medvedev, for his part, congratulated Cuba on the 50th anniversary of its communist revolution and sent his best regards to Raul Castro's brother Fidel Castro, who retired as president last February for health reasons.
The Russian president also described Castro's ongoing visit as an important milestone in bilateral relations.
"I think that your visit will open a new page in the history of friendly Russian-Cuban relations and will mean their entry to the stage of strategic partnership," Medvedev told Castro.
Medvedev added that the two countries have great potential for increasing bilateral trade turnover, which currently stands at a "modest" 239 million U.S. dollars.
"We need to implement agreements having recently been reached" so as to advance bilateral trade and economic cooperation, the Russian leader said, noting that a large number of accords have been signed over the past month.
Ten agreements, covering aviation, car-manufacturing, education, sports, agriculture, tourism and fishing, were signed following the meeting between the two leaders. In particular, there are deals on loan and food aid to Cuba.
Speaking to reporters after the Kremlin talks, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin said Cuba would use a loan of 20 million dollars from Moscow to buy Russian construction, energy and agricultural equipment.
Russia initially planned to send 25,000 metric tons of grain to Cuba. But Sechin said Russia would deliver an additional 100,000 metric tons of grain to Cuba in view of the great damage caused by two tropical hurricanes, Gustav and Ike, in September 2008.
The deputy prime minister also said Russia's flagship air carrier Aeroflot and Cuba's largest airline Cubana de Aviacion were considering setting up a joint venture.
The formal talks at the Kremlin followed Thursday's nostalgia-tinged lunch in the Zavidovo hunting lodge outside Moscow, which the Castro brothers visited two decades ago.
Moscow was Cuba's main benefactor during the Cold War era but their ties had cooled down after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s.
However, Russia has recently moved to rebuild links with Cuba, as well as other Latin American states. Medvedev paid a visit to Cuba last November, during which he met with the Castro brothers and pledged to promote political and economic ties.
Castro, who arrived here Wednesday for a weeklong trip, is the first Cuban leader to visit Russia since the disintegration of the Soviet Union. He is to meet Russian Prime Minister Vladmir Putin on Monday.
(Xinhua News Agency January 31, 2009)