Raul Castro promised to come to the Victory Parade in Russia

The head of the Cuban State Council, Raul Castro, agreed to come to Moscow to celebrate the 70 anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War.

"This [Castro's visit] testifies to the proximity of the approaches [of Russia and Cuba] to the inadmissibility of revising history, lowering the role of the Soviet army, which played a key role in defeating fascism," said Federation Council Speaker Matvienko. She added that in the anniversary of Victory in Cuba a series of events dedicated to this event will be held, with the participation of the Russian side.

Earlier, the head of the presidential administration, Sergei Ivanov, said that the preliminary participation in the Victory Parade was confirmed by the leaders of 25 countries and several international organizations. The final number of guests will be known only in early May. In particular, it is known that the leaders of the DPRK and China, Kim Jong Un and Xi Jinping, will arrive in Moscow, respectively.

At the same time, the presidents of Poland, Finland, South Korea, Montenegro, Israel, Bulgaria, Moldova, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia refused the invitation from the Kremlin. German Chancellor Angela Merkel intends to arrive in Moscow only on May 10.

Raul Castro is the younger brother of the famous Cuban national leader Fidel Castro, who was head of state for almost 50 years. The Cuban revolutionary retired in 2006 due to illness and appointed his brother as interim chairman of the State Council. Finally, Raul Castro became the head of Cuba in February of 2008, and four years later he was reelected for a second term.