Moscow, Russia.-The chief of the State Duma Defense Committee (Russian lower house), Vladimir Shamanov, welcomed the Cuban ambassador to the country, Emilio Lozada Garcia, diplomatic sources reported today.

During the meeting, in a friendly atmosphere, both sides exchanged views on the importance of increasing ties in the political, parliamentary and technical-military spheres between Cuba and Russia, as well as the living conditions of the 13 Cuban scholarship studying in the Academy.

Shamanov expressed his deepest condolences to the island’s ambassador for the physical loss of the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution and added that Fidel Castro will live in the hearts of the Russian people.

For his part, Lozada García thanked the solidarity signs received from all the Russian people for the irreparable loss of the Commander-in-Chief, and invited Shamanov to visit Cuba at the time he considers appropriate.

Last Friday, the head of the State Academy of Fire Services in Moscow, Daguirov Shamsutdin, spoke with the Cuban ambassador at the headquarters of the institution.

The Cuban delegation visited the emergency training center, computer labs and sports facilities.