Putin to step up technical, economic support of Castro government
By I. J. Toby Westerman. © 2000 WorldNetDaily.com. July 7, 2000
Russian President Vladimir Putin's right-hand man, Sergei Shoigu, further strengthened Russia's long-time support for the Castro regime during his recent visit to the island.
Shoigu, Russian minister of civil defense, emergencies and natural disasters, discussed closer economic, technical, scientific and commercial ties with the Castro government, according to official Cuban sources.
Shoigu met with Cuban President Fidel Castro as well as other top government officials. A government spokesman described Russian-Cuban relations as developing "a more stable and constructive dynamic." Shoigu's visit occurred at the same time the Castro government confirmed that "Cuba's
only option is socialism," and that communism is the only "real alternative" to "neo-liberal, homogeneous, anti-democratic" political systems of the United States "and its allies."
The remarks were carried by Radio Habana Cuba, the official broadcasting service of the Cuban government.
Shoigu has handled a variety of important tasks for Putin, from assisting in the organization and leadership of the pro-government Unity party, to engaging in diplomatic maneuverings in Chechnya.
Shoigu's Cuban visit is part of a wider tour of Latin America with the aim of advancing Russian influence in a region once considered a reserve of the United States. Havana has already noted a power vacuum in the region. During a tour of Caribbean countries two years ago, Castro boasted of the
decline of U.S. influence in the region.
Shoigu was in Cuba to participate in the 4th annual Intergovernmental Commission for Economic, Commercial, Scientific and Technical Cooperation. The agreements reached during Shoigu's visit are expected to lead to a substantial increase in Russian technical and economic assistance to the island.
At present, commercial ties alone amount to some $400 million.
Russian support for Castro's Cuba has never waned, though the supply of material resources given to the island faltered following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
As far back as 1994, the Duma, the lower house of the Russian legislature, expressed its "friendship and solidarity" with the Castro government, and agreed to cooperate with Cuba in advancing mutual economic interests throughout the Latin American region.
In 1996 and 1998, then-Foreign Minister Yevgeny Primakov visited Cuba and stated during his second trip that Russia intended to "build on its decades of good relations with Cuba" and maintain the "positive legacy" of the Soviet past.
Primakov, who later became prime minister himself, on both occasions was sent to Cuba by Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin, one of the West's favorite reformers and "ex"-communists.
Ironically, Moscow and Havana may soon find a common meeting ground for furthering their economic and political ties in Brussels, the capital of the European Union and the heart of Western Europe.
The Cuban government is advocating that the slowly reviving Latin American Common Market turn away from its traditional trading partner--the United States-- and toward the E.U.
At the same time, Moscow is advocating that the E.U. and Russia establish not only broader economic links, but also explore closer political ties -- at the expense of the United States.
Editor's note: WND's multi-lingual reporter Toby Westerman specializes in monitoring global shortwave broadcasts and reading foreign-language news journals for information not readily available from the domestic press. Each month, Westerman presents a special in-depth report
in WorldNetDaily's monthly magazine, WorldNet. Readers may subscribe to WorldNet through WND's online store.
I.J Toby Westerman, a contributing editor to both WorldNet Magazine and WorldNetDaily.com, focuses on current events in the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Balkans. He can be reached at twesterman@worldnetdaily.com.
© 2000 WorldNetDaily.com, Inc. |