Russian senator backs Cuban conditions for relations with U.S.

This week in Havana, the chairman of the Russian Senate’s Foreign Affairs Committee called on the United States to lift its blockade of Cuba, end its economic war on Cuba, remove the island from the list of nations that sponsor terrorism, turn over to Cuba the naval base at Guantánamo Bay and reactivate its embassy in Havana “in accordance with international law.”

Konstantin Kosachev (shown in photo above) made those points during a lecture to the faculty and students at the University of Havana. The topic was the development of contemporary international relations and Russia’s position on key issues of the world agenda.

The visiting legislator spoke in detail about the complications in relations between Russia and the West as the result of the West’s support for what he called “the unconstitutional coup in Ukraine” in February 2014.

The United States is making similar moves to stage a coup in Venezuela, he said.

Kosachev was in Cuba at the head of a legislative delegation that included two of his deputies, Vitaly Nikitich Ignatenko and Andrei Klimov.

During the visit, the Russians visited the Latin American School of Medicine, which trains medical professionals for 98 countries. They also met with the president of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples, Kenia Serrano Puig, during which they discussed issues of bilateral cooperation and the upcoming celebration in Moscow of the 70th anniversary of the Great Victory — the end of World War Two.

A discussion of educational issues and the prospects of Cuban-Russian cooperation in the fields of science and education continued when the delegation met with the Rector of the University of Havana, Gustavo Cobreiro Suárez.

While speaking about Cuba-U.S. relations, Kosachev said that, under sanctions from the U.S., Cuba has a strong ideological influence on Latin America that deserves admiration.

“Your example is inspiring in many ways in the present situation, when Russia is beset by economic blackmail, blockades and isolation aimed at forcing it to stop protecting the interests, rights and freedoms of Russians in other countries,” the lawmaker said, alluding to the pressures exerted on Russia by the European Union and other Western organizations.

Kosachev’s visit also included a meeting with the deputy chairman of the Cuban National Assembly’s Foreign Relations Committee, Alexis Leiva Machado. Klimov met separately with the head of the International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, José Ramón Balaguer.