Cuban President visits Russian frigate, nuclear-powered sub in Havana

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
16 Jun 2024 08:22

Russian nuclear-powered submarine Kazan and other naval vessels arrived in Cuba Wednesday for a five-day visit.

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Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel visiting the Russian frigate Admiral Gorshkov, docked at the port of Havana. (Diaz-Canel's official account on X)

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel on Sunday visited the Russian frigate Admiral Gorshkov, docked at the port of Havana.

"Today, we toured the interior of the frigate Admiral Gorshkov and the deck of the Kazan submarine, ships of the Russian Navy, which are on an official visit to the port of Havana. It was an impressive and pleasant afternoon, even under persistent rain. Welcome, friends from Russia," Diaz-Canel wrote on his account on X.

Recorrimos hoy el interior de la fragata Almirante Gorshkov y la cubierta del submarino Kazán, navíos de la Armada de Rusia, que cumplen visita oficial en el puerto de #LaHabana.

Impresionante y agradable tarde, incluso bajo la persistente lluvia. Bienvenidos, amigos de #Rusia. pic.twitter.com/kvshSRQg8w
— Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez (@DiazCanelB) June 16, 2024

On Saturday, the Gorshkov frigate opened its doors to the public, allowing locals to visit as part of the naval detachment's agenda in Havana.

The Cuban Foreign Ministry had confirmed that "a naval detachment from the Russian Federation consisting of four vessels — the frigate GORSHKOV; the nuclear-powered submarine KAZAN; the PASHIN fleet sea tanker and the salvage tug NIKOLAI CHIKER — will pay an official visit to the port of Havana from June 12 to 17, 2024."

The visit comes on the grounds of historical relations between the two countries and strictly complies with international regulations, the statement indicated, affirming that "none of the vessels carries nuclear weapons. Therefore, their stop-over in our country does not represent any threat to the region."

Russia's Defense Ministry said that before entering the Havana port, the fleet "completed an exercise on the use of high-precision missile weapons."

The following day, the Pentagon announced that a US nuclear-powered submarine USS Helena had arrived in Cuba's Guantanamo Bay as part of a previously planned routine port visit.

On Friday, the Royal Canadian Navy confirmed that patrol ship HMCS Margaret Brooke also docked in Havana on its way back from "a successful deployment in the Caribbean basin," adding that the ship "will conduct a port visit to Havana from June 14 to 17, 2024, in recognition of the long-standing bilateral relationship between Canada and Cuba."