Lavrov announced preparations for the Cuban President's visit to Moscow on May 9.

Preparations are underway in Moscow for the upcoming visit of Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel. This was announced on March 26 by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during a meeting with Chairman of the National Assembly of People's Power and the State Council of Cuba Esteban Laso.

"We are actively preparing for the visit of the President of the Republic of Cuba, Comrade Diaz-Canel. We appreciate that he accepted the invitation of the President of Russia [Vladimir] Putin will take part in the celebrations on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the Great Victory," Lavrov said.

He noted that Diaz-Canel's visit almost coincides with the 65th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations between the Russian Federation and Cuba. The Minister also stressed that the two countries are now entering a period of intensive contacts.

According to Lavrov, a meeting of the intergovernmental Russian-Cuban commission on trade, industry, scientific and technical cooperation will be held soon.

"We want and will ensure that all these contacts and visits are crowned with an agreement on further deepening our strategic partnership in all areas," concluded the Russian Foreign Minister.

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The day before, it was reported that a delegation from the Party of Socialists of Moldova and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas also plan to visit Moscow to celebrate the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War.

In 2025, May 9 marks the 80th anniversary of victory in the Great Patriotic War. In January 1945, the Soviet army launched an offensive against Berlin. As a result of the fighting, at 00:43 Moscow time on May 9, the commanders-in-chief signed the Act of Unconditional Surrender of Germany, which served as the end of the war.

On the occasion of the anniversary, Izvestia launched a special project "80 days to Victory." It publishes articles from Izvestia during the war, the full list of which can be found in the electronic archive.