The flight from Moscow to Ankara was a stretch that allowed the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, to share ideas on what happened in the recently concluded official visit to the Russian Federation.
"Today's world is not the world that humanity needs; it is not the world that is needed for there to be equality, for there to be inclusion, for there to be emancipation, for everyone to have rights". The ideas shared by the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, with the journalists accompanying him on his international tour these days, reached these reflections that concern civilization as a whole.
Taking advantage of the break in the air trip between Moscow and Ankara - a point belonging to Türkiye (formerly known as Turkey), the dignitary answered some questions asked by the reporters, which aimed, above all, to seek an assessment of the recently concluded visit to the Russian Federation, and also to evaluate exchanges such as the one held with President Vladimir Putin.
Regarding that meeting, which undoubtedly has a very special connotation, the Caribbean dignitary said that it was "a conversation between friends, and between presidents of countries that are today under pressure, under sanctions". They are countries -he said about the Island and Russia- that must move in the midst of many complexities, and that are related by history.
The dialogue between the two leaders, according to Díaz-Canel, came with a strong emotional, sentimental charge, since the unveiling of a monument dedicated to Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz in a place in Moscow was of great importance. It was "a gesture of friends of Cuba, of people of the people, of very humble people" who had Putin's support: "it was a project that was in the making, and precisely because of the possibility of its realization, he (the Russian counterpart) invited us to be in Russia on this occasion". According to Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, there is "a tremendous level of agreement between the two countries on the problems affecting the world".
The president highlighted the high level of relations that has always existed between the island and the Eurasian country. He referred to a dialogue that has never been interrupted and made reference to projects such as the reactivation of the steel mill activity -something that is underway and which includes the participation of Russian specialists.
He also mentioned a diagnostic and service center for Kamaz technology in Cuba; and added to the list the generous scholarship programs for the improvement of numerous young Cubans; oil prospecting; cultural exchange; the issue of electricity generation, or the iron and steel industry, or the willingness to improve the financial and transportation banking infrastructure. In them, and in others, it is expressed day by day how two countries are united by a two-day road: that of the deepest friendship, that which is earthly, and which also has much to do with the spiritual dimension of bilateral relations.
Fidel -a friend whose will is still gravitating on the will of both peoples-; Raul as another architect of the friendship that never ceases motivated several reflections of the president: "I believe, he said, that one of the things we have to recognize is that in the midst of our difficulties, and in the midst of the adversities that friends also face, we have always found a sensitivity, on their (Russian friends) part, to attend in a differentiated way to Cuba's problems". And that happens precisely at a time, as Díaz-Canel reasoned, when humanity is experiencing one of its most tense and complex moments.
In one of his reflections, he commented that there is a will for international projection in pursuit of multilateralism, a position that links Russia and Cuba. I believe that there is also a sense of responsibility: "What can we contribute: they, from a great nation; we, from a small nation but with the example we give of resisting creatively", in spite of the enemy that is so close to us and that "has wanted to strangle us".
TELL THE STORY AND TELL IT WELL
The Head of State spoke at length with his press team about this friendship between Russians and Cubans that transcends time. A friendship that, as President Putin had said during the inauguration of the Monument to the Commander-in-Chief, is the common wealth of both peoples.
How to keep that flame alive so that the new generations understand the true explanations of history: "Because relations between Cuba and Russia, and before that with the Soviet Union, have also gone through difficult times," the President recalled and referred to how, over the years, they have been reconstituted, updated and reactivated.
He then shared his conviction that if there is not "a good historical explanation, a rigorous analysis of history, we run the risk of opportunism, schematism and revisionism turning those relations into a picture that does not reflect their true essence at all".
That is why it is important to always understand "how these relations were forged, which may have gone through moments of misunderstanding and yet overcame all adversities," the president said.
The President also commented on this "beautiful history of relations", the way in which these ties have been strengthened, which have reached the most diverse areas and "have gone through political and economic-commercial relations, but have also reached family relations, friendship, brotherhood, solidarity and cooperation". And when one dwells on this history, it is so beautiful, he said, that it can captivate young people; and what better than to captivate young people, so that they feel responsible for making these relations grow and give continuity to them.
REASONS TO FEEL HAPPY
The President spoke casually. He spoke of results, common objectives and bridges of cooperation that intertwine in several directions, and he also spoke of happiness, because this is a tour that, as one would say in good Cuban, "started off on the right foot".
"I feel happy because I think the tour started very well with the visit to Algeria and has continued very well with this visit to the Russian Federation," he said.
This tour is demonstrating what many wanted to ignore a little less than a week ago: Cuba is not alone and neither does it go "begging around the world"; it has much to offer and share with its friends and allies and thus also consolidate ties.
"There are enough reasons to be happy and we have shared that, it is not just me, the whole delegation that accompanies me is happy," he said."
We are going to face adversity and hard times, the president shared with certainty, with the "conviction that we can move forward, that we can get ahead, that with friends like that we can also overcome our limitations. This cannot be assumed in a pessimistic way, this challenge of creativity, this challenge of overcoming the difficult has a charm and we must also assume it with happiness, with joy, with desire, with drive".
I believe, he said, that in the days ahead we will also be able to experience emotions at the height of these intense days. The insistence of the top leaders of the countries that are part of the tour to visit them "shows that Cuba is not isolated".
Yes, the tour is definitely setting a good course and weaving threads of friendship and cooperation, so necessary and urgent to forge a better future in this long-suffering planet.