Havana: Russia's president visited old Cold War ally Cuba after meeting with his nation's new friends in Latin America in a tour aimed at reviving relationships that have frayed since the Soviet Union's collapse.
Dmitry Medvedev arrived in Havana yesterday from Venezuela, where he met with socialist President Hugo Chavez and agreed to help the oil-rich South American country start a nuclear energy programme.
Russian officials deny that Medvedev's trip to Latin America -- traditionally considered in the US sphere of influence -- is meant to provoke the United States, but the voyage included meetings with Washington's staunchest opponents in the region.
In Havana, Medvedev was greeted by Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque and Ricardo Cabrisas, the island's chief of foreign trade and investment. He was immediately sped away in a limousine without addressing reporters.
Medvedev later met with President Raul Castro, who was especially friendly with the Russians during the Soviet years. He was also expected to visit a newly consecrated Russian Orthodox cathedral in Old Havana before leaving Cuba today.
The Soviet Union was Cuba's chief source of aid and trade until its disintegration in 1991, and relations between the new Russian federation and the island soured. Former Russian President Vladimir Putin visited in 2000 to strengthen ties but reminded Havana it should pay its Soviet-era debt.
Shortly after Putin's visit, Moscow closed a Cold War-era electronic spying facility in Lourdes, Cuba, just outside Havana and it has since been converted into an elite computer sciences University.
