MOSCOW: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his Cuban counterpart Raul Castro signed a "strategic partnership" agreement at a Kremlin meeting yesterday, part of a new era of friendship between the former Cold War allies.

The two sides drew up 34 agreements during Castro's visit to Moscow - the first visit by a Cuban leader since the end of the Cold War. No details of the partnership document were released.

Russia has also agreed to give Cuba a loan to buy Russian goods, although the amount of the loan was not disclosed.