CUBAN President Miguel Diaz-Canel met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Havana on Thursday to discuss co-operation between the two nations.

Mr Diaz-Canel was joined at the meeting by Cuban revolutionary leader and former first secretary Raul Castro.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said the discussions covered joint current projects and practical means for the participation of Russia in the Economic-Social Development Plan of Cuba until 2030.

Mr Rodriguez thanked his counterpart for the solidarity of Russia during the battle against the Covid-19 pandemic, with donations of food and medical supplies.

During the meeting, Mr Rodriguez expressed Cuba’s gratitude for Russia’s continued opposition to the illegal economic, commercial, and financial blockade imposed by the United States on Cuba.

He also welcomed Russia’s support for Cuba to be removed from the list of countries alleged by the US to be state sponsors of terrorism. 

Mr Lavrov said: “We reaffirmed our full solidarity with Cuba when it comes to combating the attempts by the United States and the collective West as a whole to maintain their domination on the international stage by unscrupulous means.”

Earlier on Thursday President Diaz-Canel praised the resilience of the Cuban people in the face of adversity.

He said that it was because of this resilience that Cuba is capable of facing the worst of scenarios.

Speaking after the constitutive session of the 10th Legislature of the National Assembly of People’s Power, the president stressed that it is difficult to summarise the creative resistance and resilience of the people facing extremely difficult conditions.

Mr Diaz-Canel said that the US blockade made reaching the nation’s economic goals more difficult. 

He said that because of the progress made by Cuba during his previous term of office, he was optimistic the island could succeed even under challenging circumstances. 

Mr Diaz-Canel was elected earlier this week to a second five-year term as Cuban president.