Cuban President Raul Castro met on Monday with the vice president of the Russian Duma (Parliament), Ivan Melnikov, and a delegation accompanying him on an official visit to the island.

Both leaders spoke of topics of international interest and praised the excellent state of bilateral relations between Cuba and Russia and the parliaments of both nations. They also referred to the May 9 celebrations in Moscow and Havana of the victory over fascism.

Granma newspaper reports that the president of the Cuban National Assembly (Parliament), Ricardo Alarcon, and the Russian ambassador in Havana, Mijail Kaminin, also participated in the meeting.