Gorbachev ‘in embrace of friends’

Press, 4 April 1989, Page 8

Gorbachev ‘in embrace of friends’

NZPA-Reuter Havana The Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, greeted with a bear-hug by Cuba’s President, Fidel Castro, when he arrived on Sunday for his first visit to Cuba, promptly expressed delight that he was “in the embrace of friends.” At an impromptu news conference for Soviet and Cuban television with Mr Castro at his side, a smiling Mr Gorbachev said friendship between the two countries “has sometimes gone through difficult times, but it is tried and tested, and we all know where we stand.” Vast crowds officially estimated at half a million, or onequarter of Havana’s population, turned out to greet the Kremlin leader along the highway from Jose Marti airport into the city.

Mr Gorbachev and Mr Castro stood side-by-side in an open, grey Soviet ZiL limousine, in spite of sometimes heavy rain,

linking hands and holding them over their heads in a victory salute, as Cubans along the roadside waved enthusiastically. “I would like to express my deepest thanks to the Cuban people for this welcome, for their enthusiasm,” Mr Gorbachev told television reporters from the two countries soon after he and Mr Castro arrived at a Government protocol house where he is to stay for three days. “It is very important for our Soviet people that we are in the embrace of friends,” he said with a broad smile at Mr Castro. He said his visit was an important event for the whole of Latin America, a continent he has long planned to visit. “Over the past few years I have had many meetings with representatives of the continent,” Mr Gorbachev declared. “I have the impression that the continent is moving on to the road of broad

development ... I think this continent has a big future.” Earlier, Mr Gorbachev received a 21-gun salute as he stepped off his Ilyushin-62 airliner after a 13-hour flight from Moscow which included a stopover in Ireland for talks with the Irish Prime Minister, Mr Charles Haughey. Mr Gorbachev is to make a major speech before Cuba’s legislative assembly today, in which he is expected to concentrate on the problems of the developing world, especially its huge foreign debt. Mr Castro, who has been making efforts to strengthen links with Latin America, will welcome this support from his superpower ally, diplomats say.

But there is little likelihood the two leaders will change their strong support for Left-wing movements in the region, as the United States has said it hopes

they will. During at least two formal meetings, Mr Gorbachev and Mr Castro are expected to touch on trade relations and analyse the Soviet Union’s aid to Cuba, estimated at SUSS billion a year. Mr Gorbachev leaves tomorrow for talks in London with the British Prime Minister, Mrs Margaret Thatcher. During his stopover in Ireland, Mr Gorbachev urged East and West Europe to "put its common house in order” and defuse tensions. “Europe has a tremendous potential and I believe if Europe does progress, if Eurppe moves forward, that will be a very good example for the whole world,” The Irish Prime Minister, Mr Haughey, leader of a country that prides itself on its neutrality, offered Ireland as the site for a Soviet summit with President Bush.