Putin arrives in Cuba on first leg of six-day Latin American tour Voice of Russia July 11, 2014
Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Cuba today on the first stop of a six-day tour of Latin America that will also take him to Argentina and on to Brazil for the final of football's World Cup on Sunday. It is his second visit in 14 years to the communist island, where his itinerary includes official talks with Cuban President Raul Castro, and a meeting with the father of the Cuban Revolution, 87-year-old Fidel Castro.
Putin was welcomed at Havana's Jose Marti International Airport early Friday by First Vice-President Miguel Diaz-Canel, Russian diplomats and other officials.
Putin was scheduled to meet former President Fidel Castro and his brother and current President Raul Castro, both longtime foes of the United States.
Over the past years, Moscow has sought to revive ties with the Caribbean country, whose economy has been saddled with a US economic embargo since 1962.
Russia's State Duma approved a deal last week to forgive 90 percent of Cuba's debt, or almost $32 billion, most of it originating from Soviet loans to a fellow communist state.
Even so, Cuba will find it hard to pay off the remaining $3.5 billion over 10 years, raising the possibility that Russian creditors could take equity stakes in Cuban state companies, according to diplomats based in Havana.
Putin has said the remaining $3.5 billion would be spent on joint investment projects in Cuba.
Focus on trade, not military deals
When the Ukraine crisis erupted in February, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Russia was negotiating with eight countries, including Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, to build military installations such as bases or long-range refueling stations for Russian navy vessels or strategic bombers.
Military issues are absent from Putin's official agenda in Cuba, and such a provocation would represent a departure for Raul Castro, who has overseen more pragmatic relations with Washington, despite half a century of hostilities.
Putin's visit will instead feature commercial agreements, including a deal for Russian state oil companies Rosneft and Zarubezhneft to explore for offshore oil. Zarubezhneft has been involved in offshore exploration in Cuba in the past, and currently helps the country extract oil from onshore wells.
Cuba believes there might be 20 billion barrels of oil in its waters, although the US Geological Survey has a more modest estimate of 4.6 billion barrels. A number of foreign companies, including Spain's Repsol SA, Malaysia's Petronas Bhd and Venezuela's PDVSA SA have drilled in Cuba without success.
Among those expected to be travelling with Putin is Rosneft Chairman Igor Sechin, one of the Russian executives targeted for US economic sanctions because of the Ukraine crisis. The United States has blacklisted individuals believed to be part of Putin's inner circle, and Sechin, a Putin loyalist, is among the most influential people in Russia.
A major oil find would inject new life into Cuba, which is desperate for foreign investment and has difficulty meeting obligations to creditors.
Football and BRICS
Putin is expected to visit Argentina Saturday and attend the World Cup final in Brazil Sunday before participating in a summit of the BRICS group of emerging economies next week.
The president's six-day tour of the region takes place against the backdrop of an unrelenting crisis in ties with the West over Ukraine.
(VoR, Reuters, ITAR-TASS, AFP)
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