Cuba and Russia form new ties

Putin is keen on rekindling ties with Cuba

Cuba and Russia have signed a series of accords aimed at boosting bilateral ties, especially in trade.

The agreements emerged at Havana talks between Cuban President Fidel Castro and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.

The Russian leader joined his Cuban counterpart in condemning trade sanctions imposed by the United States on the communist island.

Mr Putin's five-day visit to Cuba is the first by a Russian leader since the collapse of the Soviet Union, 10 years ago, ruptured relations between the two former allies.

The Russian president has said he wants to forge a new relationship with the communist-ruled island.

But the BBC correspondent in Havana says that will be difficult.

Russia is no longer one of Cuba's major trading partners, and the thorny issue of Cuban debt to Russia, which Moscow estimates at $20bn, still has to be resolved.

Humanitarian interference

President Putin said he thinks there are issues in the bilateral relations between Russia and Cuba that need "looking into very closely".

Cuba owes Russian nearly $11bn in debts

He said the Soviet Union had invested quite a lot in the Cuban economy.

Russian trade with Cuba is estimated at just under $1bn per year, less than a third of what it was at the time of the Soviet collapse.

A joint communiqué issued after the first round of talks said the two leaders "have repeated their condemnation of the continued trade, economic and financial blockade of Cuba by the United States as well as any other extraterritorial acts linked to the blockade".

They also condemned attempts to introduce concepts like humanitarian interference and limited sovereignty in the world, which they said are used to by-pass the United Nations.

Soviet projects

Earlier this week, the Russian president described Cuba as "an old friend and faithful partner", and lamented the fact that the two countries were not as close as they once were.

Putin wants business deals not ideological agenda

He also emphasised that his interest was in seeking practical business deals, rather than an ideological agenda.

Russia has agreed to give commercial credits to the island.

But BBC's Tom Gibb in Havana says no one is predicting that Russian investment will match that of Cuba's main trading partners in Canada and Western Europe.

Among other business deals, Mr Putin was also expected to promote his country's participation in completing the construction of Soviet-era projects, such as the Las Camariocas nickel plant and the Cienfuegos oil refinery.

Mr Putin will spend the weekend at the beach resort of Varadero on a private break, before travelling on to Canada.