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Russian warships head to Cuba for visit reminiscent of Cold War era
Russian naval visit revives ties with Cuba
By Ray Sanchez | South Florida Sun-Sentinel
December 16, 2008
HAVANA - In a reminder of the once-thriving military relationship between Havana and Moscow, Russian warships will dock in Havana Bay on Friday for the first time since the Soviet era.
While analysts doubt Russia would risk stationing nuclear bombers on the socialist island, some think a restoration of limited intelligence and military cooperation between the former longtime allies may be in the works. They called the naval maneuvers saber rattling intended to dissuade Washington and its allies from moving missile defense sites close to Russia's border.
For five days starting Friday, Cubans will be able to tour a squadron of warships from a country that served as Cuba's benefactor until the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.
"Symbolically, it is quite a big thing," said Igor Danchenko, aresearch analyst at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank. But, he added, in practical terms, it's little more than a training cruise.
Russia's weakened and inexperienced navy, Danchenko said, has not trained outside the country in more than 15 years. "This is very important for the average sailor to actually travel outside of the Arctic," he said.
The flotilla will be led by the destroyer Admiral Chabanenko, which took part in the first Russian-Venezuelan naval exercise in the Caribbean in late November, Russian navy spokesman Igor Dygalo told the Interfax news agency.
"The visit of the Russian flotilla to Havana is an important step on the practical level for the strengthening and development of contacts between the navies of the two countries," Dygalo said.
The Admiral Chabanenko, the nuclear-powered cruiser Peter the Great and support ships arrived in the Caribbean last month in a deployment unprecedented since Soviet times. The show of force close to U.S. shores is seen as a response to the U.S. use of warships to deliver humanitarian aid to Russia's neighbor Georgia after their war in August.
The military visit coincided with a Latin American tour in late November by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who visited Cuba and met with President Raul Casto and ailing former leader Fidel Castro.
The cold war military relationship between the two countries stretched from the Cuban revolution in 1959 until Russia closed a massive electronic intelligence complex outside Havana in 2001.
Analysts said the new closeness between Moscow and Havana could lead to greater intelligence cooperation and perhaps limited military cooperation, including refueling stops for aircraft and warships. But they doubt that Raul Castro would want to be caught in the middle of a rekindled U.S.-Russian rivalry.
"Ever since Vladimir Putin became president of Russia, he has tried to restore gradually the relationship between Cuba and Russia," said William LeoGrande, a Cuba expert at American University in Washington, D.C.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Caribbean tour
The destroyer Admiral Chabanenko will lead a Russian naval squadron to Cuba, the first such visit since the Cold War.
Russian warships head to Cuba for visit reminiscent of Cold War era -- South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com
Russian naval visit revives ties with Cuba
By Ray Sanchez | South Florida Sun-Sentinel
December 16, 2008
HAVANA - In a reminder of the once-thriving military relationship between Havana and Moscow, Russian warships will dock in Havana Bay on Friday for the first time since the Soviet era.
While analysts doubt Russia would risk stationing nuclear bombers on the socialist island, some think a restoration of limited intelligence and military cooperation between the former longtime allies may be in the works. They called the naval maneuvers saber rattling intended to dissuade Washington and its allies from moving missile defense sites close to Russia's border.
For five days starting Friday, Cubans will be able to tour a squadron of warships from a country that served as Cuba's benefactor until the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.
"Symbolically, it is quite a big thing," said Igor Danchenko, aresearch analyst at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank. But, he added, in practical terms, it's little more than a training cruise.
Russia's weakened and inexperienced navy, Danchenko said, has not trained outside the country in more than 15 years. "This is very important for the average sailor to actually travel outside of the Arctic," he said.
The flotilla will be led by the destroyer Admiral Chabanenko, which took part in the first Russian-Venezuelan naval exercise in the Caribbean in late November, Russian navy spokesman Igor Dygalo told the Interfax news agency.
"The visit of the Russian flotilla to Havana is an important step on the practical level for the strengthening and development of contacts between the navies of the two countries," Dygalo said.
The Admiral Chabanenko, the nuclear-powered cruiser Peter the Great and support ships arrived in the Caribbean last month in a deployment unprecedented since Soviet times. The show of force close to U.S. shores is seen as a response to the U.S. use of warships to deliver humanitarian aid to Russia's neighbor Georgia after their war in August.
The military visit coincided with a Latin American tour in late November by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who visited Cuba and met with President Raul Casto and ailing former leader Fidel Castro.
The cold war military relationship between the two countries stretched from the Cuban revolution in 1959 until Russia closed a massive electronic intelligence complex outside Havana in 2001.
Analysts said the new closeness between Moscow and Havana could lead to greater intelligence cooperation and perhaps limited military cooperation, including refueling stops for aircraft and warships. But they doubt that Raul Castro would want to be caught in the middle of a rekindled U.S.-Russian rivalry.
"Ever since Vladimir Putin became president of Russia, he has tried to restore gradually the relationship between Cuba and Russia," said William LeoGrande, a Cuba expert at American University in Washington, D.C.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Caribbean tour
The destroyer Admiral Chabanenko will lead a Russian naval squadron to Cuba, the first such visit since the Cold War.
Russian warships head to Cuba for visit reminiscent of Cold War era -- South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com
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