ORAC
8th Oct 2016, 11:14
Russians plot to reopen Cuba and Vietnam bases | World | The Times & The Sunday Times (http://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/world/russians-plot-to-reopen-cuba-and-vietnam-bases-rcz9q7xzr)
Russia threw down a new challenge to the West yesterday, saying that it might reopen its Cold War-era military bases in Cuba and Vietnam.
Nikolai Pankov, the deputy defence minister, told the Russian parliament that his ministry was “rethinking” the decision to withdraw its military presence from the two nations. He gave no further explanation and it was not clear whether either country would be amenable to new Russian bases. But the underlying message was in line with the Kremlin’s strategy of threatening to renew Cold War hostilities if the United States and its allies intervene more aggressively in Syria or other flashpoints...........
Moscow closed down its signals intelligence base in Cuba and a naval base in Vietnam in the early 2000s as part of a scaling-down of its global military presence after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The reopening of the bases would mark another step in Mr Putin’s attempt to restore Russia’s Soviet-era influence — as well as being an explicit reminder of the two biggest confrontations of the Cold War: the Cuban missile crisis and the Vietnam War.
“We are engaged in this work,” Mr Pankov told the Duma. Cuban and Vietnamese officials have not yet commented. In April, Communist Party MPs appealed to Mr Putin to reopen the military base in Cuba, which is less than 100 miles from the Florida Keys, and deploy Russian missiles there.
The Kremlin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said only that international tensions had risen sharply over the past two years and it was natural that Russia and other countries would make decisions based on their national interests.........
Russia threw down a new challenge to the West yesterday, saying that it might reopen its Cold War-era military bases in Cuba and Vietnam.
Nikolai Pankov, the deputy defence minister, told the Russian parliament that his ministry was “rethinking” the decision to withdraw its military presence from the two nations. He gave no further explanation and it was not clear whether either country would be amenable to new Russian bases. But the underlying message was in line with the Kremlin’s strategy of threatening to renew Cold War hostilities if the United States and its allies intervene more aggressively in Syria or other flashpoints...........
Moscow closed down its signals intelligence base in Cuba and a naval base in Vietnam in the early 2000s as part of a scaling-down of its global military presence after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The reopening of the bases would mark another step in Mr Putin’s attempt to restore Russia’s Soviet-era influence — as well as being an explicit reminder of the two biggest confrontations of the Cold War: the Cuban missile crisis and the Vietnam War.
“We are engaged in this work,” Mr Pankov told the Duma. Cuban and Vietnamese officials have not yet commented. In April, Communist Party MPs appealed to Mr Putin to reopen the military base in Cuba, which is less than 100 miles from the Florida Keys, and deploy Russian missiles there.
The Kremlin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said only that international tensions had risen sharply over the past two years and it was natural that Russia and other countries would make decisions based on their national interests.........