The Communist Party of the Russian Federation (PCFR) awarded commemorative medals on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the Victory over Fascism to the first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba Central Committee, Army General Raul Castro Ruz; President of the Republic Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez; CCP Central Committee Second Secretary José Ramón Machado Ventura; the President of the National Assembly of People’s Power, Esteban Lazo Hernández, and Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz.
On behalf of the Presidium of the PCFR Central Committee, the first vice-president of the political organization, Ivan Melnikov, presented the distinctions to Cuban ambassador Gerardo Peñalver Portal, recognizing the contributions of the aforementioned individuals to the historic relations of friendship shared by the two peoples and parties.
The Cubaminrex website reported that the Cuban diplomat thanked the PCFR for the awards granted our main leaders and emphasized the enduring bonds shared, evident in ongoing mutual support, and in the Russian party’s unwavering opposition to the U.S. blockade of Cuba.
Melnikov, also first vice-president of the Russian Federation’s State Duma, was accompanied at the ceremony by the Party’s vice-president, Dimitri Novikov, and the head of its international relations department, Mars Zabirov.
In a joint article published in this newspaper, the foreign ministers of Russia and Cuba, Serguey Lavrov and Bruno Rodríguez, respectively, stated that both nations “look optimistically to the future of bilateral relations and continue working to fully defend sovereignty and independence, as well as the right to guarantee security and construct our own destinies.”
(Source: Granma)