Both meetings took place on the sidelines of the BRICS Plus Ministerial Council, which is being held in the Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod until June 11 in the presence of the member countries of the group, comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia and Iran, besides some twenty heads of foreign policy departments of like-minded countries representing regional interaction groups.

During the meeting with his Belarusian counterpart, Rodriguez highlighted the high level of mutual relations and acknowledged Minsk’s support for Havana in condemning the economic, commercial, and financial blockade imposed by the United States on Cuba for more than six decades, which has been tightened in the last few years.

The Cuban foreign minister thanked the Belarussian Parliament’s lawmakers who demanded Cuba’s exclusion from Washington’s State Sponsors of Terrorism (SSOT) list.

After this meeting, Rodriguez met with the head of Egyptian diplomacy to analyze the current status of the joint relations and issues of the multilateral agenda.

The Cuban minister agreed with Shoukry to put an end to Israel’s escalation against the Palestinian people in Gaza and support the recognition of Palestine as a State by the United Nations.

The head of Cuban diplomacy also expects to meet with his Brazilian counterpart, Mario Vieria.

Rodriguez arrived in Nizhny Novgorod on Sunday to participate in the BRICS Plus Ministerial Council meeting at an invitation of his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov.

At the end of the meeting, the Cuban foreign minister will travel to Moscow to pay an official visit. Lavrov will receive him on June 12 to analyze several issues related to the deepening of the bilateral partnership in the political, commercial, economic, and scientific-technical fields.

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