Vladimir Putin to Start Latin America Tour in Cuba: Russia President Will Stop in Argentina, Get World Cup Keys in Brazil
Next week Russian President Vladimir Putin will begin a tour of Latin America, during which he will visit Cuba, Argentina and Brazil, according to AFP.
The Russian leader, who has been embattled in a territory crisis with Ukraine for months, will try to use this trip to avoid seeing Russia become increasingly isolated in world politics.
Putin will start his six-day tour on July 11, when he visits the communist island of Cuba to meet with Cuban President Raúl Castro and former leader Fidel Castro, the 87-year-old who spearheaded the Cuban Revolution. The Kremlin said that Putin and the Castros are set to talk about cooperation in energy, transportation, aviation, space and health, according to AFP.
Cuba is a logical first stop as Putin heads west; the country has sided with their old political chum on the Ukraine situation.
Ahead of Putin's trip to Cuba, the Russian parliament on Friday voted to write off 90 percent of Cuba's $35 million debt from the Soviet era. Instead, that money will be set aside and used for investment projects in Cuba.
After Cuba, Putin will head south to Argentina to talk trade and energy with Argentine President Cristina de Kirchner, according to a Voice of America report.
From there, Putin will descend on the country the world has been watching for the last three weeks, Brazil. The president will attend a summit of the BRICS group of emerging nations, which is comprised of Brazil, China, India, Russia and South Africa. Putin is expected to meet with leaders of China, India and South Africa, AFP reported.
Putin will even be able to find some time to squeeze in a bit of soccer, as he will attend the World Cup finals on July 13, where Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff will hand over the keys of the tournament to Putin.
Russia has been chosen to host the event in 2018 and has vowed to spend billions on stadiums and infrastructure to support the World Cup.
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