Havana, Cuba.- The President of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, presided over the celebration today of the 65th anniversary of the diplomatic ties between Cuba and Russia in the State Duma of the Russian capital.

On the Russian side, the event was led by the President of the Federation Council, Valentina Matvienko, and the Speaker of the Moscow City Duma, Alexei Shaposhnikov.

Matvienko emphasized the importance of the upcoming 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany, which also serves as a tribute to the six and a half decades of unbroken ties between the two nations.

She stated that despite the geographical distance between Cuba and Russia, there are parallels in the effort to preserve the historical truth against those who seek to erase or alter it.

In turn, Díaz-Canel pointed out that in the past six decades, significant areas of bilateral cooperation have been revived.

Russia is increasingly participating in crucial initiatives outlined in Cuba’s National Development Plan until 2030, and the collaboration has also been intensified in areas that include energy, transportation, railways, agriculture, telecommunications, biotechnology, among others.

Furthermore, the Cuban head of state thanked the Slavic nation for their backing of the island’s admission to the BRICS as a member, and to the Eurasian Economic Union as an observer.

He also highlighted that the two countries have similar perspectives on the key topics on the global agenda.

Díaz-Canel asserted that he felt honored to be a part of the festivities commemorating the triumph over fascism, alongside the people who sacrificed millions of lives in the Great Patriotic War.

In this regard, he stressed that the heroic actions of the Soviet people during the war saved humanity from the Nazi holocaust 80 years ago.