Russia seeks military presence in Cuba in response to U.S. missile shield

MOSCOW, Aug. 7 (Chinese media) -- Russia's seemingly

newfound interestin resuming its positions in Cuba has appeared at a time when

Moscow is growing increasingly apprehensive about the proposed U.S. missile

defense system in Eastern Europe, analysts say.

"We need to reestablish positions on Cuba and in

other countries," Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said earlier this week

after hearing a report from Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin, who had just

ended a three-day visit to the Caribbean state, along with Russian Security

Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev.

Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee for

International Affairs Andrei Klimov seemed more unequivocal about the topic.

"Russia should take advantage of all its capabilities to protect its national

interests, including the interests in the field of security," he said after the

talks in Cuba between Russian and Cuban officials.

Russia should "own its supporting points" in

different regions in the world, Klimov said, noting that "Cuba's location has

geopolitical importance" and that a presence in both economic and military

affairs must be built in America.

Klimov did not rule out the possibility of a military

presence on the Caribbean Island just off the U.S. coast. "If America deploys

its AMD systems closely to our border, Russia can also deploy its systems on the

territories of the states which will accept it," he said.

But he quickly added that Russia's plans would not

involve targeting its missiles at the United States.

Leonid Ivashov, a Russian political analyst and

former top defence ministry official, said the retrieval of the Russian military

presence in Cuba may pose as a response to growing U.S. military and political

pressure on Russia.

"It is not a secret that the West is creating a

'buffer zone' around Russia, involving in the process countries in Central

Europe, the Caucasus, the Baltic states and Ukraine," Ivashov was quoted by the

RIA Novosti news agency as saying.

"In response, we may expand our military presence

abroad, including in Cuba," he said.

Ivashov, also president of the Academy of

Geopolitical Sciences,said "there are convenient bays for reconnaissance and

battleshipsand a network of so-called forward staging posts in Cuba. We can

resume the operation of the radar center in Lurdes upon the agreement of the

Cuban administration."

Analysts said huge pressures are building on Moscow,

especiallyin security field, after the United States proposed to place its

missile defense shield in Poland and the neighboring Czech Republic last year --

a step Washington insists are necessary to prevent possible attacks from "rogue

states" such as Iran.

Some media reports also drew attention to the

repercussions of the U.S. foreign policy, like supporting the "color

revolutions" in the former Soviet republics of Georgia, Kyrgyzstan and

Ukraine,as well as the deployment of the missile shield.

According to media reports, some of Russia's top

military brass,angered by the U.S. plans to install a missile defence shield in

eastern Europe, suggested last month that Russia should use Cuba as a refueling

stop for nuclear-capable bombers.

The Russian defense ministry then denied the reports,

but the United States warned that such a move would cross the "red line."

U.S. State Department spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos said

Monday Washington continued to oppose improving relations with Cuba but that

countries were free to conduct their own bilateral relations,according to the

DPA.

The U.S. could have more reaction to Russia's plan

"if it movesforward," Gallegos said, adding that "we don't see dealing with the

Cuban government as particularly productive."

Analysts said a Russian military presence in Cuba

would make Washington extremely uneasy, although there is still a long way togo

for any military cooperation between Russia and Cuba to be put in place.

The Cuban missile crisis in 1962 shows that the

United States won't allow any real threat deployed in a place as close as Cuba.

In October 1962, the United States and the then Soviet Union went on the brink

of war after a U.S. spy plane revealed missile bases being built in Cuba.

Cuba, however, appears to be indifferent toward

Moscow's intention to restore its military presence there.

Concerned about the fueled speculation over a

possible deployment of Russia's military facilities on the island, a

high-ranking Cuban diplomat denied that military cooperation between Moscow and

Havana are underway.

Havana "is ready to cooperate with Russia in civil

branches, but it is unlikely to be in favor of resuming military cooperation,"

the diplomat was quoted by the RIA Novosti as saying.