Russia boosts Cuba ties

Russia boosts Cuba ties
By Bill Gertz-The Washington Times Wednesday, July 31, 2013

The Russian military recently dispatched a guided-missile warship to
Cuba as part of what U.S. officials say are growing military,
intelligence and economic ties between Moscow and Havana.

The missile cruiser is the Moskva, the flagship of the Russian Black Sea
fleet, according to state-run Russian news reports.

"The cruiser Moskva and the large seagoing tanker Ivan Bubnov set off
for Havana on the fourth week of their long-distance deployment," a
fleet spokesman told Interfax-AVN on Friday. On the way, the ship
conducted a test launch of a cruise missile, he said.

After Havana, the warship will visit Caracas, Venezuela; Managua,
Nicaragua; and Praia Port in the Cape Verde Islands off eastern Africa.

The visit to Cuba is part of what the U.S. officials said is a push by
Moscow to boost relations with Cuba in the military, energy and
transportation sectors.

The effort was kicked off in February when Russian Prime Minister Dmitry
Medvedev announced that Moscow is canceling most of Cuba's Soviet-era
debt, estimated at close to $30 billion, while he denounced the U.S.
embargo against the communist island nation.

The closer ties also appear related to Russian efforts to maintain
influence in the region after the death of leftist Venezuelan leader
Hugo Chavez and the expected retirement of Cuban President Raul Castro
in the coming months.

Russian military ties with Cuba were bolstered during a visit to Havana
in April by Russian Chief of Staff Gen. Valeri Gerasimov.

U.S. officials said Gen. Gerasimov's visit included stops at Cuban
military and intelligence sites and was viewed as an indication that
Moscow wants to step up both its military and intelligence presence in Cuba.

During the Soviet period, the Russians operated a large electronic
spying facility at Lourdes, near Havana, that was capable of
intercepting most U.S. communications in the southeastern United States.
It was less than 100 miles off the coast of Key West.

Now there are signs that the Russians want to return to Lourdes for more
electronic spying.

The Russians also are assisting the Cubans economically with offshore
oil prospecting, plans for a new international airport near Havana and
deliveries of Russian passenger jets.

The warship visit follows Panama's recent seizure of a North Korean
freighter covertly ferrying Soviet-made missiles and aircraft from Cuba
to North Korea, in apparent violation of U.N. sanctions on Pyongyang
over its missile and nuclear tests.

Source: "Inside the Ring: Russia boosts Cuba ties - Washington Times" -
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