oscow, April 15 (Prensa Latina) The opening today of the exhibition “Year of Anniversaries: From Mexico to Argentina” marked the culmination of the celebrations marking the anniversaries of Russia’s diplomatic relations with several Latin American nations.
The director of the Latin American Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Eurasian giant, Alexander Shchetinin, in statements to Prensa Latina acknowledged that the commemoration of ties with a dozen countries in the Latin American region in 2025 gives his nation the opportunity to defend so many years of shared history.
“The diplomatic relations of some of the countries we are celebrating with this year date back to the 19th century, such as Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico. Others are more recent, for example, Honduras, with whom we have 35 years, but most of the nations represented here have ties that go back 80 years,” the diplomat said.
Alexander Shchetinin drew a parallel with the coincidence of the anniversaries falling in 1945, and with the victory of the Red Army in World War II, the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) for Russia.
That is why we note with great satisfaction that the vast majority of Latin American countries were on board the anti-Nazi coalition. And thus, they contributed to the common fight against Nazi-fascism through their military detachments and solidarity movements with the Soviet people, he recalled.
“For us, Latin America is a great partner, a partner that shares our values, such as equality among states, sovereignty, and non-intervention in foreign and domestic affairs. That is why we will continue to expand cooperation and friendship, in a joint journey toward a better future,” the official emphasized.
For his part, Enrique Orta, Cuba’s deputy head of mission in Russia, described the 65 years of ties between Havana and Moscow as a fruitful period marked by multilateral ties of full understanding between the two countries.
In this regard, he noted that it is an honor for the Caribbean nation that this celebration takes place on the eve of the commemoration of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany.
“And although these dates may not seem directly connected historically, they do. Three Cubans fought in the Great Patriotic War, and three Russians were part of the Liberation Army fighting in Cuba, actions that made our ties even more historic,” the ambassador recalled.
Along these lines, he emphasized that the historic milestone of celebrating 65 years of diplomatic relations on May 8, followed by the 80th anniversary of the victory over fascism, adds further depth to Russian-Cuban ties.
The exhibition “Year of Anniversaries: From Mexico to Argentina,” opened by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and displays copies of documents from Russia’s foreign policy archives that reveal the process of establishing diplomatic relations with Argentina (140 years); Mexico (135); Colombia (90); Bolivia, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, and Ecuador, 80 years with each country, respectively; Honduras (35); and the 65th anniversary of the reestablishment of bilateral ties with Cuba.
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