Russian, Cuban defense chiefs meet in Moscow

MOSCOW

Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu praised Cuba on Tuesday as "Russia's most important ally in the Caribbean region."

At a meeting with his Cuban counterpart Alvaro Lopez Miera in Moscow, Shoygu said Russian-Cuban relations are "on the rise."

"Your large delegation shows the Cuban side's willingness to discuss a wide range of issues in the military and military-technical fields," Shoygu told Miera. "Today, I propose to discuss in detail all existing and promising cooperation projects in the military field."

He stressed that Russia was ready to assist Cuba, which is under "an illegal US trade and economic blockade."