A Russian nuclear-powered submarine and different naval vessels arrived in Cuba Wednesday for a five-day go to to the communist island off Florida’s coast in a present of drive amid spiraling US-Russian tensions.
The submarine Kazan, which Cuba says just isn’t carrying nuclear weapons, was accompanied by the frigate Admiral Gorshkov, in addition to an oil tanker and a salvage tug.
Russia’s protection ministry stated in an announcement that previous to getting into the Havana port, the fleet “completed an exercise on the use of high-precision missile weapons.”
The uncommon deployment of the Russian army so near the United States — notably the highly effective submarine — comes amid main tensions over the battle in Ukraine, the place the Western-backed authorities is combating a Russian invasion.
It additionally coincided on Wednesday with a gathering in Moscow between Cuba’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, as the 2 former Cold War allies additional tighten their hyperlinks.
During the assembly, Rodriguez expressed his authorities’s “rejection of the expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) towards the Russian border,” which he stated “led to the current conflict in Europe, and especially between Moscow and Kyiv,” based on a Cuban international ministry assertion.
He additionally referred to as for “a diplomatic, constructive and realistic solution” to the disaster.
The Kazan and Admiral Gorshkov, which is certainly one of Russia’s most trendy warships, could possibly be seen simply off Havana, which is about 90 miles (145 km) from the tip of Florida.
The tanker Pashin and the tug, flying the white, blue and pink tricolor of Russia, entered the harbor early Wednesday morning, an AFP reporter stated.
“In the coming days, the crews of the ships and support vessels will take part in a number of protocol events,” Russia’s protection ministry stated in an announcement printed by the Interfax news company.
Cuba’s army stated the go to by the naval detachment “strictly complies with international regulations” and is a nod to “the historic relations of friendship” between Havana and Moscow.
A spokesperson for the United States Southern Command stated in an announcement: “We are not surprised by this given Russia’s long history of Cuban port calls. While our force posture has not changed, we remain staunchly focused on our national defense mission.”
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel met with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin final month for the annual May 9 army parade on Red Square exterior the Kremlin.
He wished Russia “success” in its Ukraine offensive and condemned “the geopolitical manipulation” of the United States, in feedback reported by Russia’s TASS news company.
During the Cold War, Cuba was an vital shopper state for the Soviet Union. The deployment of Soviet nuclear missile websites on the island triggered the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, when Washington and Moscow got here near battle.
Relations between Russia and Cuba have turn into nearer since a 2022 assembly between Diaz-Canel and Putin.
Source: www.anews.com.tr