Havana, Oct 4 (EFE) .- Latin America is not for Russia the “backyard” of the US, said on Friday in Havana Russian Prime Minister Dimitri Medvedev, who reiterated his country’s support for the region, in especially to Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, which he defended against the “unilateral sanctions” of Washington.
“For our country, the Latin American and Caribbean region is one of the key areas of our international cooperation. It is not a US backyard for us. It is in our own interest that the region be stable and economically efficient,” he said. Medvedev.
The Russian ruler is on an official visit in Cuba since Thursday, when he met with the country’s president, Miguel DĂaz-Canel, and with the leader of the Communist Party, RaĂșl Castro, in addition to presiding over the signing of several bilateral cooperation agreements .
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This second day was initiated by receiving the title of Doctor Honoris Causa in Political Science from the University of Havana, where the Russian head of government criticized in a speech the methods of several countries, including the US, to apply “political pressure and economic against nations that disagree. ”
The dignitary denounced the “illegal unilateral sanctions” against nations in the region, especially Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, which the administration of US President Donald Trump calls the “troika of tyranny” and on which Washington has redoubled the sanctions Economic and political.
“Such prohibitive measures are not only punishments for governments that opt ââfor independent policies, but are methods for intervening in internal affairs of the states, and a limitation of rights and freedoms of citizens of these countries,” he insisted.
On Venezuela, Medvedev said that “there is only one president and it is NicolĂĄs Maduro” and warned that “only Venezuelans themselves can resolve their internal differences”, referring to the severe crisis in the South American country.
Russia is, along with China, Cuba or Turkey, one of Maduro’s key allies against more than fifty countries – including the US, Canada and most Latin Americans – who since February recognize the opposition as interim president Juan GuaidĂł, leader of the Venezuelan Assembly.
For the Russian premier, in Latin America “a new model of interference in the affairs of sovereign states is being tested.”
“The United States not only uses the so-called ‘soft coup’, but they directly demand a change of government (in Venezuela). They try to get into the affairs of any country and invest in destabilization. They don’t want to hear any criticism,” he said.
This third visit of Medvedev to the island – the first was in 2008 as president and the second in 2013 in his current position – reinforces the growing Russian presence in the Caribbean country and illustrates the closing of Moscow’s ranks with Havana in the face of hostility from the neighboring United States.
“Cuba is one of our most reliable partners in the region,” said the Russian head of government in his speech, while mentioning the agreements signed the day before in areas of trade, economy, investment, transport and culture, among others.
He said that his Government will offer facilities to Cuban students who wish to study in the Eurasian nation and announced, without further details, that they plan to open a branch in Cuba of the prestigious Russian State Museum in St. Petersburg, designed as a multidimensional center for the promotion of Russian language on the island and the region.
Before the end of the visit, it is expected that the issue of fuel supply, crucial for the Caribbean country, which is going through what could be one of the worst energy crises in its recent history, of which it blames USA and his “persecution” of crude oil shipments from Venezuela.
Precisely the last official act that Medvedev has on his agenda in Cuba is a tour, this afternoon, by a new oil production complex located in Boca de Jaruco, about 43 kilometers away from Havana, a joint project between the company State oil company Zarubezhneft.
