Cuba`s Raul Castro To Visit Moscow - Medvedev

Shortly after the visit, a Russian warship sailed into Havana Bay for the first time since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Cuban President Raul Castro is planning to visit Moscow, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Friday, in the latest sign of warming ties between the Cold War allies.

Medvedev visited Havana in November in a move seen by some observers as a snub to communist Cuba's arch-rival, the United States.

Shortly after the visit, a Russian warship sailed into Havana Bay for the first time since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

"I hope that the coming visit to Russia of the head of the State Council and Council of Ministers of Cuba, Raul Castro, will give a serious impulse to our bilateral relations," Medvedev said.

Medvedev was speaking at the Kremlin after accepting the credentials of Cuba's new ambassador to Moscow. He did not say when Castro planned to visit.