Lavrov thanked Cuba for its support in the hybrid war unleashed by the West

Russia is grateful to Cuba for its continued support in the hybrid war unleashed by Western countries, and appreciates it. This was announced on May 7 by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in an article for the Cuban media "Russia and Cuba: Brotherhood through the years and across the distances" on the occasion of the 65th anniversary of the restoration of Russian-Cuban diplomatic relations.

"We are grateful for the continued support provided by Havana in the context of the hybrid war unleashed by the West against Russia. The Cuban leadership has repeatedly rightly pointed out that one of the root causes of the conflict over Ukraine should be sought in the long—term expansion of NATO towards the Russian borders," Lavrov said.

In his opinion, one of the important issues remains the preservation of full respect for human rights in the territories under the control of the Kiev regime, which has set a course "to destroy everything connected with Russia."

In addition, Lavrov drew attention to the fact that relations between Moscow and Havana have been going on for several decades, and the Russian Federation and its Latin American partners are closely cooperating in various fields. According to him, for several years the parties have also been engaged in expanding educational ties, allocating grants and opening new educational centers.

"The history of mutual assistance between our countries dates back several decades. We continue to provide assistance to our Cuban friends with specific projects. Close cooperation is carried out in the fields of energy, industry, tourism, agriculture, technology, education, culture and sports. The expansion of the portfolio of bilateral investment initiatives is being discussed, the total number of which currently exceeds one hundred," the Russian Foreign Minister added.

On April 5, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko opened a branch of the Southern Federal University (SFU) in Havana and discussed with Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel bilateral cooperation between the states in many areas. He noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Cuban counterpart had repeatedly stressed the strategic importance of the two countries' partnership.