A comment by Defense Minister Marshal Andrei Gretchko to the CPSU CC on 10 April 1968 regarding the Soviet Union's relations with Cuba. He says, "We provide all-sided aid to Cuba, including considerable military aid. Thousands of Soviet military specialists, i.e., officers, sergeants, and soldiers, are stationed in Cuba, protecting its security, training its forces. However, all of this does not meet with appropriate recognition on the part of the Cuban leaders."