Lavrov praises Castro brothers as he launches biography of Raúl
A book about President Raúl Castro’s life was released today (June 15) in Moscow and none other than the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, launched it.
The book, “The Life Journey of Raúl Castro,” is the latest in the series “Lives of Remarkable People,” published by the Young Guard publishing house. It was written by Nikolai Sergeyevich Leonov, 86, a former KGB officer who has known Raúl and Fidel Castro for more than 60 years, since before he served as Spanish-language interpreter for Premier Nikita S. Khrushchev.
At a ceremony at the Russian Foreign Ministry, attended by Leonov and Cuban Ambassador Emilio Lozada García, Lavrov presented the book. A transcript of his speech follows, as translated by Progreso Weekly.
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We gather here for the presentation of the book by Nikolai Sergeyevich Leonov devoted to an outstanding statesman of our time, the Chairman of the State Council and Council of Ministers of Cuba, Raúl Castro.
The author is a man who spent many years of service in research and deep analytics. He is a talented scientist and writer. He wrote a number of works on historical and political topics. We are presenting today Nikolai Sergeyevich Leonov’s work about the life and work of Raúl Castro.
The story is bright and exciting because these two men have known each other personally for over 60 years. Fifteen years ago, Nikolai Sergeyevich co-authored a political biography of Raul Castro’s older brother — the leader of the Cuban Revolution, Comandante Fidel Castro.
The new book is likely to be of interest not only to specialists in international affairs, but also to a wide range of readers. It has many interesting facts relating to the Cuban revolution and the development of relations between our countries, in which Nikolai Sergeyevich was directly involved. […]
The Castro brothers have opened a new era for their country. Together with Fidel, Raúl Castro was at the forefront of the revolutionary movement on the island and laid the foundations of the modern Cuban state. He has done much to preserve the independence and sovereignty of Cuba in the face of fierce pressure from the outside.
Today, when Havana faces massive challenges over the complex modernization of the country, Raúl Castro in every way contributes to their successful solution in the interest of sustainable development and the increasing well-being of the Cuban people.
Raúl Castro deserves great merit for creating a special place for Cuba in international relations. Wide recognition was given — and continues to be given — to Havana’s efforts to uphold the principles of fairness in world affairs, the cohesion of the Non-Aligned Movement, and the strengthening of Latin American integration process and solidarity.
One month ago, we celebrated the 55th anniversary of the restoration of Russo-Cuban diplomatic relations. Like Fidel Castro, Raúl continues to make an invaluable contribution to the strengthening of cooperation between our countries, which has passed the test of time and has reached the level of strategic partnership and mutually beneficial long-range perspective.
The basis of interaction is the sincere friendship between our peoples, and the principles of equality and mutual respect. An additional impetus to the comprehensive interaction was given by the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to Cuba in July of last year.
“The Life Journey of Raul Castro” is a vivid example of selfless service to his country and his people, with whom he has always shared burdens and the joy of success. This has earned him the deep respect of Cubans.
I hope that this presentation will open the way to many readers of this book. Nikolai Sergeyevich, I wish you new successes and the very best of health.
