Russia Says It'll Rebuild Ties With Old Ally Cuba

[Ryan Ruck]

Russia Says It'll Rebuild Ties With Old Ally Cuba

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has said Cuba is one of Russia's key partners in Latin America, while announcing a renewal of economic ties and the visit to Moscow next year of Cuban leader Raul Castro, EFE reported Wednesday.

"Cuba has been and is one of our key partners in Latin America," Medvedev said after receiving Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque.

Medvedev announced Russia's intention to increase its political and trade relations with Cuba, a country almost forgotten by the Kremlin in the decade after the disintegration of the Soviet Union.

Perez Roque, in Russia since last Saturday on an official visit, gave Medvedev an invitation from Raul Castro to visit the communist-ruled island.

The Russian president, who said that Moscow and Havana cooperate actively in the bilateral and international political spheres, stressed the need to give more attention to developing economic ties.

"We have gone past the pause that occurred in our relations during the past decade (the 1990s). Today our contacts are meaningful and friendly," he said.

The loss of subsidies from Moscow and of trade with Warsaw Pact countries sent Cuba's economy into a slump from which it began to emerge only recently.

"Next year we'll be waiting for Raul Castro in our country," Medvedev said, adding that the Cuban president's visit will be "one more contribution" to developing strong ties.

He also asked Perez Roque to give his greetings and wishes for good health to Fidel Castro, who formally stepped down early this year in favour of younger brother Raul.

Before being received by Medvedev, the Cuban foreign minister had talks with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, who expressed his hopes that the new administration in the United States might revise its stance towards Cuba and lift the 46-year-old economic embargo.

"I have heard that the president-elect (Barack Obama) mentioned relations with Cuba among the matters his administration will study," Lavrov said after his meeting with Perez Roque.

The Cuban minister met Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who during his 2000-2008 tenure as president advocated re-establishment Russia's international position and its role as a world power.

Cuba, however has ruled out housing on its soil elements of Russia's anti-missile system, similar to the one the US plans to station in Poland and the Czech Republic, Perez Roque told reporters after his talks with Putin.

The foreign minister invited Russian companies to invest in Cuba, and in particular to take part in the exploration and exploitation of oil both onshore and in Havana's portion of the Gulf of Mexico.

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Russian president visits Cold War ally Cuba

By ANDREA RODRIGUEZ – 3 days ago
HAVANA (AP) — Russia's president visited old Cold War ally Cuba on Thursday after meeting with his nation's new friends in Latin America in a tour aimed at reviving relationships that have frayed since the Soviet Union's collapse.

Dmitry Medvedev arrived in Havana from Venezuela, where he met with socialist President Hugo Chavez and agreed to help the oil-rich South American country start a nuclear energy program.

Russian officials deny that Medvedev's trip to Latin America — traditionally considered in the U.S. sphere of influence — is meant to provoke the United States, but the voyage included meetings with Washington's staunchest opponents in the region.

In Havana, Medvedev was greeted by Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque and Ricardo Cabrisas, the island's chief of foreign trade and investment. He was immediately sped away in a limousine without addressing reporters.

Medvedev later met with President Raul Castro, who was especially friendly with the Russians during the Soviet years. He was also expected to visit a newly consecrated Russian Orthodox cathedral in Old Havana before leaving Cuba on Friday.

The Soviet Union was Cuba's chief source of aid and trade until its disintegration in 1991, and relations between the new Russian federation and the island soured. Former Russian President Vladimir Putin visited in 2000 to strengthen ties but reminded Havana it should pay its Soviet-era debt.

Shortly after Putin's visit, Moscow closed a Cold War-era electronic spying facility in Lourdes, Cuba, just outside Havana and it has since been converted into an elite computer sciences university.

Earlier Thursday, Medvedev and Chavez toured a Russian destroyer docked in a Venezuelan port, one of two large Russian warships that arrived this week for training exercises in the first deployment of its kind in the Caribbean since the Cold War.

Chavez saluted the captain, and while touring the vessel joked to reporters from the deck: "We're going to Cuba!" The warships will hold joint exercises with Venezuela's navy next week.

Business deals also were high on Medvedev's agenda: Russia pledged to help Venezuela with oil projects and building ships, while Chavez's government signed a deal to buy two Russian-made Ilyushin Il-96 passenger jets to add to the state airline's fleet for long-range flights.

Wednesday's accords included a pledge of cooperation on peaceful nuclear energy.

Moscow plans to develop a nuclear cooperation program with Venezuela by the end of next year, said Sergei Kiriyenko, head of the Russian Federal Atomic Energy Agency.

Chavez says Venezuela hopes to build a nuclear reactor for energy purposes.

Medvedev also said Russia is ready to "think about participating" in a regional socialist trade bloc led by Chavez, likely as an associate member.

Chavez launched the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas, named after South American independence hero Simon Bolivar, as an alternative to U.S.-backed free-trade pacts.

Medvedev pledged to keep supplying Chavez with weapons, saying Russia has a "pragmatic relationship" with Venezuela and the arms sales aren't meant to threaten any country.

Venezuela has bought more than $4 billion in Russian arms, including Sukhoi fighter jets, helicopters and 100,000 Kalashnikov rifles.

Cuba is the last stop on a four-nation tour, which also included visits to Peru and Brazil and talks in Caracas with Bolivia's Evo Morales and Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/...TWmqwD94NLC2O0

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Russian president arrives in Havana for visit

www.chinaview.cn 2008-11-28 15:39:52

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·Russian President Dmitry Medvedev arrived on Thursday noon in Havana.

·Medvedev is scheduled to have official meetings with Cuban Leader Raul Castro.

·Medvedev's visit to Cuba is the fourth visit to Cuba by a Russian President.

Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev (R) waves after arriving at Havana's Jose Marti airport November 27, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

HAVANA, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev arrived on Thursday noon in Havana, where he was welcomed by Cuban vice President Ricardo Cabrisas.

Medvedev is scheduled to have official meetings with Cuban Leader Raul Castro, and visit places of social and cultural interests in Havana.

Medvedev visited Cuba at the invitation of Castro, and it is the last stop of his tour to Latin America, which included short visits to Peru, Brazil and Venezuela.

Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque, foreign Investment and Economic Collaboration Minister Rodrigo Malmierca and Russian ambassador to Cuba Mikhail Kamynin also went to the Cuban international airport Jose Marti to welcome Medvedev.

Medvedev's visit to Cuba is the fourth visit to Cuba by a Russian President, after the trips of Leonid Brezhnev in 1974, Mikhail Gorbachov in 1989 and Vladimir Putin in 2000.

The two sides are expected to cooperate on new projects of bilateral cooperation on transport, energy, communications, education, medical pharmaceutical industry, biotechnology and tourism.

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Russia to help Cuba modernize weaponry, train military


Владимир Родионов | Buy this image

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08:1718/09/2009
HAVANA, September 18 (RIA Novosti) - Modernization of the Soviet-made military equipment and training of Cuban military personnel will be the focus of Russian-Cuban military cooperation in the near future, the chief of the Russian General Staff said on Friday.

Gen. Nikolai Makarov arrived on a working visit to Cuba on Monday, met with Cuban President Raul Castro and the country's military leadership, and visited a number of military installations.

"During the Soviet era we delivered a large number of military equipment to Cuba, and after all these years most of this weaponry has become obsolete and needs repairs," Makarov said.

"We inspected the condition of this equipment, and outlined the measures to be taken to maintain the defense capability of this country...I think a lot of work needs to be done in this respect, and I hope we will be able to accomplish this task," the general said.

Makarov said the Cuban request for assistance with training of military personnel will also be fully satisfied.

Although the Cuban leadership has repeatedly said it has no intention of resuming military cooperation with Russia after the surprise closure of the Russian electronic listening post in Lourdes in 2001, bilateral military ties seem to have been improving following the visit of Russian Security Council chief Nikolai Patrushev and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin to Cuba in July last year.

A group of Russian warships, led by the Admiral Chabanenko destroyer visited Cuba in December last year during a Caribbean tour.

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Thursday, October 15, 2009
Visit to Cuba by Russian chief of staff stirs new Cold War speculation

The visit of Russia’s top military officer to Cuba has fueled concerns that Moscow will reopen its large electronic eavesdropping station on the island at Lourdes.

The chief of the Russian military's general staff Gen. Nikolai Makarov. AP

Gen. Niolai Makarov, chief of the general staff, visited Cuba in late September for meetings with Cuban leader Raul Castro. A number of agreements were reached including a decision by Russia to resume training at Russian military schools and training center for Cuban military personnel.

Russian defense industries also will begin modernizing the Cuban military, according to press reports of the visit.

“The Soviet Union supplied a large quantity of equipment and armaments to Cuba. Many models have gone out of service and require repair and restoration. We decided what deliveries are needed," Makarov told reporters after the talks.

Additionally, the Russians and Cuba may set up new facilities for the joint production of arms and ammunition as well as repair and modernization of military aircraft and armored equipment. Konstantin Sokolov, vice president of the Academy of Geopolitical Problems, told the Russian news site KM.ru that based on public statements by the Russian military after the talks it is difficult to determine if Cold War level ties are returning between the two militaries.

“Cuba could play a very important role not only from the viewpoint of Russia's defense potential in general, but in the intelligence system in particular,” Sokolov said.

“The point is that the base at Lourdes, which was closed on Russia's initiative at the beginning of the 2000s, housed radio equipment that was an extremely strong information resource for decision-making in the military-strategic sphere.

[Ryan Ruck]

Russia To Expand Cooperation With Cuba

October 21, 2010

Russia backs expanded cooperation with Cuba in all areas, the country's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated on Thursday after negotiations with his El Salvadoran counterpart Hugo Martinez.

Lavrov said he had accepted an invitation to visit El Salvador.

The countries plan to sign a series of agreements on trade, economy and culture in the near future.

[Ryan Ruck]

Russia Boosts Cuba Ties

By Bill Gertz
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.

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But the Obama Administration is moving to normalize relations with Cuba and give back Gitmo to Cuba .... Idiots!!!


Meanwhile:

• Russia Says It'll Rebuild Ties With Old Ally Cuba
• Russia finalize plans to integrate Cuba and Venezuela into Russian Strategic Forces
• Russia Plans AK-47 Ammo Factory In Cuba
• Hezbollah opens base in CubaSouthern Border Chessboard Involves Iran/Venezuela/Russia
• Iran, North Korea, Cuba and Condi.
• North Korean weapons shipments bound for Iran intercepted
• North Korea seeks stronger ties with Iran to fight U.S.
• China, North Korea Running Missile Export Business To Mideast

War in the US; when will it come?

Soon...

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News
Russia navy visit Cuba

04/08 19:17 CET

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A Russian naval task force has arrived in Cuba for a five day visit.

The Russian crews are expected to participate in various cultural and sporting events during their stay
Cuba’s relations with Russia had chilled after the collapse of the Soviet Union but it now seems to be improving again.

Hundreds of people turned out along Havana’s seafront road, the Malecon, to watch the ships come in.

During their stay in Havana, the ships will be open for public viewing.

The Russian crews are expected to participate in various cultural and sporting events.

Under an ideological and economic alliance that has lasted for more than three decades, Cuba once received about 20 percent of its gross national product from Soviet subsidies.

The island’s economy almost collapsed when the Soviets stopped sending aid.

More about: Cuba, Culture, Havana, Military, RussiaCopyright © 2013 euronews

[American Patriot]

Sounds like Russia is trying to get some new allies in the South

If people can't see that they aren't our friends, they're fools.

[Ryan Ruck]

Russia Writes Off $32bn Cuban Debt In Show Of Brotherly Love

Agreement, which stipulates that Cuba must still repay $3.2bn over 10 years, comes as President Vladimir Putin prepares for Havana trip.

July 10, 2014

Russia's parliament has ratified an agreement that will see Moscow write off 90% of cash-strapped Cuba's $35.2bn debt to the Soviet Union, according to the Russian news agency ITAR-Tass.

The agreement, which both countries signed in October 2013, draws a line under a two-decade-long quarrel. It stipulates that Cuba must pay back $3.2 billion over a 10 year period in exchange for Russia forgetting about the remaining $32 billion.

Cuba's first payment is expected in October, and will be paid into an account opened by Russian state-owned lender Vnesheconombank at the National Bank of Cuba.

The agreement was hurried through the State Duma on the last day of its spring session on Friday, a week before President Vladimir Putin's official visit to Cuba, where he will meet Cuban President Raul Castro, and his brother, revolutionary leader Fidel Castro.

The deal has been trumpeted as a show of brotherly love that will lead to a raft of investment and trade deals being signed between Russian and Cuba.

During Friday's Duma session, cosmonaut-turned-lawmaker Valentina Tereshkova supported the decision to cancel the debt, which was accrued in the 1970s and 1980s, reminding her colleagues that following the Chernobyl disaster of 1986, Cuba welcomed 40,000 Soviet children to its shores to aid their recovery.

Not everyone was singing off the same hymn sheet, however.

"When we talk about writing off debts even to 'fraternal countries', we always forget about our own people," Liberal Democratic Party deputy Anton Ishchenko was quoted by Gazeta.ru as saying. If Russia is so keen to do Cuba a favour, he said, then "why didn't the government raise the question of providing free trips for all citizens to Cuba? Why not work on this issue?"

[Ryan Ruck]

Russia 'To Reopen Cold War Cuban Listening Post Used To Spy On America'

July 16, 2014

Russia has agreed to reopen a major Cold War listening post on Cuba that was used to spy on America, it was reported today.

Moscow-based daily Kommersant claimed Russia and Cuba have struck a deal 'in principle' after President Vladimir Putin visited the island last week.

Citing several sources within Russian authorities, the respected daily wrote: 'The agreements were finalised while President Vladimir Putin visited Havana last Friday.


The former Russian listening station at Lourdes some 20 miles south of Havana is seen in this December 2000. It was mothballed a year later but could reopen, it is reported


Moscow dismantled its radar stations in Lourdes in 2001 as part of cutting back military installations abroad. The stations were built in 1964 after the 1962 Cuban missile crisis


Satellite dishes for the Lourdes radar station, which was Russia's biggest covert military outpost abroad. Around 1,500 Russian engineers, technicians and soldiers observed submarine activity from the base built in 1964

The signals intelligence facility near Havana at Torrens, also known as Lourdes, was the largest Russian SIGINT site abroad, but has been mothballed since 2001.

It covered a 28 square-mile area with 1,000-1,500 Russian engineers, technicians, and military personnel working at the base.

Russia had closed the Lourdes spy base south of Havana on Putin's orders to save money and due to a warming of relations with the U.S. after the September 11 attacks.

But Moscow has since shown a new interest in Latin America and its Cold War ally Cuba and relations with the West have deteriorated amid the Ukraine crisis.

The base was set up in 1964 after the Cuban missile crisis to spy on the United States.

Just 155 miles from the U.S. coast, it was the Soviet Union's largest covert military outpost abroad with up to 3,000 staff.

It was used to listen in to radio signals including those from submarines and ships and satellite communications.

'All I can say is - finally!' one Russian source told Kommersant of the reported reopening.

The defence ministry and military high command declined to comment on the report to Kommersant.

Ahead of Putin's visit to Cuba last week as part of a Latin American tour, Russia agreed to write off 90 per cent of Cuba's debt dating back to the Soviet era, totalling around $32 billion.

Russia paid Cuba rent of $200 million per year to use the base in the last few years it was open.

A former head of Russia's foreign intelligence service, Vyacheslav Trubnikov, told the newspaper the base would strengthen Russia's international position.

'Lourdes gave the Soviet Union eyes in the whole of the western hemisphere,' he said.

'For Russia, which is fighting for its lawful rights and place in the international community, it would be no less valuable than for the USSR.'

Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov was not immediately available for comment on Wednesday.

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Russia and Cuba Prepare Large-Scale Joint Projects in Energy, Civil Infrastructure and Aerospace

20:51 24.03.2015(updated 21:38 24.03.2015)

Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said that Russia and Cuba will prepare large-scale projects in the energy, transportation and civil infrastructure sectors, as well as in the areas of biotechnology, pharmaceutics, healthcare and civil aviation.



© Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation

Lavrov to Discuss Steps to End Embargo Against Cuba During Havana Visit

HAVANA (Sputnik) — Russia and Cuba are preparing large-scale joint projects in energy and civil aviation sectors, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday after meeting with Cuba's President of the State Council Raul Castro and his counterpart Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla.

"In line with instructions given by the heads of our states, our government agencies will most certainly prepare rather large, serious, and promising projects in the energy, transportation and civil infrastructure sectors, as well as in the areas of biotechnology, pharmaceutics, healthcare and civil aviation," Lavrov said.

The Russian foreign minister is on a one-day visit to Cuba as part of his current Latin American tour, which also includes Nicaragua, Columbia and Guatemala.


© AFP 2015/ Presidencia - Marcelo GARCIA
Washington's Bid to Contain Russia and Latin America Hastens Creation of New Partnerships

Russian authorities previously announced that Russia and Cuba, together with the United Arab Emirates, were discussing the possibility of jointly creating a major international transport hub in the Caribbean country.

The hub would be built on the grounds of a former military base, and help boost other infrastructure projects in the region, the director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Latin American department, Alexander Schetinin, said earlier in March.

Russia and Cuba are also considering the launch of a "very serious" program to modernize Cuba's power plants, according to the Russian official.

The two countries have a long history of friendly relations and cooperation, dating back to Soviet times.

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