HAVANA, Cuba, Jun 12 (acn) Brigadier General Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez, president of Cuba-Russia Friendship Association, praised the constructive path of bilateral ties between the two countries in the economic, political and cultural sphere.

Tamayo Méndez, first Latin American who traveled to the cosmos in a Cuban-Soviet joint flight, said that those ties will strengthen the role of both countries in international debate spaces.

The Brigadier-General told the institution he presides will mark its 50th anniversary soon, and recalled the strong support offered to the Caribbean nation by the former Soviet Union, which contributed to raising the technical and professional level of Cubans.

He also commented that despite the economic and financial crisis affecting the world, the economic relations with Cuba will grow thanks to the political will of both countries.

Tamayo Mendez also stressed the realization of many objectives in these years of friendship, now strengthened by several associations and by the actions of his entity.

Russia stands out as an example of solidarity work with our country, he noted, example of this is the position of its government against the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States to Cuba.

Another sign of support is its position in favor of the immediate release of Gerardo Hernandez, Ramon Labañino and Antonio Guerrero, Cuban antiterrorist fighters unfairly imprisoned in U.S. jails, he stated.

Cuba-Russia Friendship Association was founded in 1964 by two great men of history, Ernesto Guevara and the world’s first cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin.

This organization forever sealed a friendship that endures and gets strengthened today despite the vicissitudes of history.