Russia and Cuba are in favor of non-interference in countries’ domestic affairs and are opposed to unilateral sanctions, Russian President Vladimir Putin said following talks with President of Cuba’s Council of State and Council of Ministers Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, TASS reported.

"Russia and Cuba have always been in favor of strict compliance with the key international law principles enshrined in the UN Charter, including respect for the sovereignty and interests of all countries, inadmissibility of pressure, use of unilateral sanctions and meddling in domestic affairs," he stressed.

According to the Russian president, "while discussing the global and regional agenda, the parties noted the identity of the two countries’ stances on the majority of pressing issues and confirmed mutual interest in further close coordination of joint steps on the global stage."

Putin added that Moscow had reached an agreement "with Cuban friends to deepen cooperation in the fight against transnational organized crime, including in cyberspace, illicit drug production and trafficking and other modern challenges and threats."

"[Our] Cuban friends fully share Russia’s commitment to deepening the dialogue with regional organizations and integration associations in Latin America and the Caribbean and will provide all necessary assistance to us in this matter," the Russian leader noted.

Moscow and Havana unilaterally condemn the ever more frequent use of unilateral measures of compulsion, running counter to international law, in international relations. In particular, they are against the use of such measures for replacing legitimate governments by means of economic pressure or destabilization of internal situations, as follows from a joint statement by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chairman of the Cuba’s State Council and Council of Ministers Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez on common approaches to international relations, adopted upon completion of their talks in Moscow on Friday.

"In the current international situation of growing contradictions in the military, political, economic, financial, technological, information and other fields the use of unilateral measures of compulsion contradicting international law by some countries, groundless accusations and the refusal to comply with the assumed international legal commitments become a destabilizing factor and an obstruction to the normal development of nations," the statement runs.

Putin and Bermudez expressed their strong disagreement with the Monroe Doctrine, intervention in the internal affairs of sovereign nations having the unalienable right to choose their political, economic, and social systems and their own model of development, as well as an independent foreign policy in accordance with the Havana Declaration which the Community of Latin American and Caribbean states signed in 2014 to proclaim Latin America and the Caribbean as a zone of peace.

The leaders of Russia and Cuba express their deep regret and are seriously concerned over the US intention to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, according to the leaders’ joint statement.

"The sides note that this decision by Washington is fraught with very negative consequences for international security and the system of arms control and urge the United States to revise its intentions of withdrawing from this Treaty," the statement reads.

Both leaders also stated the intention "to support the initiatives aimed at strengthening the integrity of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction, and also at preserving the unity and authority of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and returning its work to the de-politicized course of chemical disarmament in strict compliance with the provisions of the Convention."

Russia supports Cuba in its struggle to lift the over half-century-old US embargo against the Latin American country, according to the joint statement.

"The Russian president has confirmed the unchanged solidary of the Russian people with the people of Cuba in the fight for an immediate and unconditional termination of the almost 60-year long economic, trade and financial blockade, imposed by the United States against Cuba," the statement said.

Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Storchak said on Friday that Russia may provide a 38 mln euro credit to Cuba in the military technical cooperation line.

"There are unapproved parts that remain to be agreed, the Cubans plan to come here with a professional delegation in the near future and I think the agreement will be signed during that visit. The Cuban delegation that will be involved in expansion of military technical cooperation intends to arrive in two weeks," he said, adding that the credit is worth 38 mln euro.

Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov told reporters Cuba’s defense minister will visit Russia in the second half of November to discuss military cooperation.

"We have agreed that Cuba’s defense minister will visit Russia in the second half of November and particular attention will be paid to this matter [military cooperation]," he said. "I think our Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu will hold a meeting with his counterpart and they will determine the most promising areas of cooperation for the near future," Borisov added.