Russian warships will arrive in Havana next week, say Cuban officials citing ‘friendly relations’

Russian warships will arrive in Havana next week, say Cuban officials citing ‘friendly relations’

well Cuba is trying to ease concerns about the arrival of Russian warships in Havana next week the ships will be there to carry out Naval exercises along with moscow’s allies Cuba and Venezuela Cuban officials have said the Russian ships will not have any nuclear weapons on board and that they did not present a threat to the region us officials have said they don’t see the arrival of Russian ships to Cuba as threatening but that the US Navy would be monitoring the exercises for more Let’s cross to our correspond in Havana at Augustine Ed what are Cuban officials saying exactly about what to expect when these exercises take place next week well as you said in your introduction they’ve been downplaying it uh discursively um they’ve been saying you know that the submarine is not going to be armed with a nuclear missile be very odd if it were given how close Cuba is to the United States and uh and the backlash that that would create but more than but but beyond predictable um words from the CU for Ministry I think the backdrop of this is Cuba’s huge economic crisis and its uh increasing inability to keep the lights on I’m speaking to you from Havana where we’re privileged we’ve only had four hours of power cups today in lots of the provinces that make up most of the country people are sometimes going up uh going without 20 going without like 20 hours per day and so what we’re seeing is Cuba trying to cour Russia um because they need the oil they need the petrol um and within that context there’s actually been quite a bit of fanfare around this within Cuba so I got a press release this morning from the Cuban Ministry uh sorry the Cuban revolutionary armed forces and they announced that they’re going to be uh the day that the the the three warships and the one uh submarine come into Havana Bay there’s going to be a 21 gun salute so it’s all quite showy they’re going to be put on a bit going to be putting on a bit of razzled Dazzle and I think what the Cubans are trying to I think what Cuban politicians are trying to communicate to their populace is that Cuba is not completely alone at this time that the regime has International allies um and I think what they’re trying to Telegraph and communicate to the United States implicitly is that um they that that if they get hit even harder with the sanctions the sanctions have been reted up to unprecedented Heights uh since the Trump Administration the Biden administration’s kept most of them in place that get closer to Russia and that is not something that US policy makers particularly in the Democratic party but many within the Republican Party want and so Cuba wants to ratchet up and Telegraph its nuisance value but it’s historically been very good at doing at a time when frankly um Cuba’s weigh down the headlines um and weigh down most policy makers thoughts in the United States they want to get back up there um so that they can get some sanctions relief of course this comes in the context of strain relations to put it mildly between the US and Russia over Ukraine but how does the Cuban public view the presence of Russian military power on its Shores mixed as you can imagine in an island of 10 or 11 million people I mean it’s worth saying that the way in which Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is covered and talked about in many European nations is very different how it is here first of all geographically um keba is just a very long way away from that and people feel far away from it second of all um the economic prices is so stultifying so right word people are up to their eyeballs with difficulties of putting food on the plate power Cuts how am I going to be able to get to work that in a sense thinking about international issues such as Russia Ukraine seems a little bit abstract and of course you do have a lot of nostalgic value for the former Soviet Union people remember that when they’re quite Russians uh were were were closer to to to to Cuba for good or for ill people had a better quality of life so particularly amongst the old Generations there’s a nostalgic value and and fond memories um lots of people traveled there study there um but overall it’s not seen um in the way in in in the in the dangerous light that it is certainly by NATO countries and I think a lot of people think practically you know if they’re going to bring us food if they’re going to give us cheap petrol if the Europeans don’t want to buy it so much the better okay we’ll have to leave it there our correspondent Havana Ed Augustine Ed thanks so much we appreciate it well here in Fr

Four Russian warships, including a nuclear-powered submarine, will arrive in Havana next week, Cuban officials said Thursday, citing “historically friendly relations” between both nations and as tensions escalate over Western military support for Ukraine in its war with Russia. FRANCE24’s Ed Augustin reports from Havana.
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