Putin seeks new Cuba showdown as Ukraine offensives falter

Putin seeks new Cuba showdown as Ukraine offensives falter

well four Russian naval ships have arrived in Havana uh they’re going to be there for 5 days um one of them is a a frigate which has uh some of the latest Russian missiles on it not nuclear I should add another is a Russian submarine that is nuclear capable it’s it’s nuclear powered and it is capable of firing uh nuclear cruise missiles okay Stephen well I I guess the first thing to say is that anytime anyone is anything about Cuba and Russian involvement you know new Cuban Missile Crisis is is the immediate sort of concern in everyone’s mind um tell us what exactly has happened that is why we’re suddenly thinking that again well four Russian naval ships have arrived in Havana uh they’re going to be there for five days um one of them is a a frigate which has uh some of the latest Russian missiles on it not nuclear I should add another is a Russian submarine that is nuclear capable it’s it’s nuclear powered and it is capable of firing uh nuclear cruise missiles uh the Cubans have been you know pretty clear because of exactly what you said that they’re worried about sort of alarmist uh reaction to this they’re pretty clear that there are no nuclear weapons uh on any of those vessels um you know but it is a you know these are these are complex times this is a time when when you know Russia and the West uh are having a a pretty fraught relationship and there is Cuba you know probably the closest Ally of Russia in the Western Hemisphere and just 90 miles from the United States so you know clear parallels are being drawn but uh as I say the Cuban government uh are sort of adamant that that uh one shouldn’t blow this out of proportion what is America’s sort of current stance on on its relationship with Cuba have things changed at all over the last four years of Joe Biden not really I mean it’s not uh to to sort of step back a bit under Trump uh the sanctions were were were ramped up there’s been an embargo on Cuba since since the 1960s those were were somewhat ramped up under Trump there was some Hope on the Cuban side that they would be sort of scaled back they have been a bit uh things like uh remittances are easier to make again but no it’s a it’s a it’s a pretty difficult relationship and you know there are many reasons why one of them is is that uh you know there is demand from some American voters particularly in Florida to take a hard line on Cuba and and you know the Democrat Party con continues to do that and you know the the Biden Administration will say uh the Cuban government needs to give a bit if it wants a better relationship it for example has imprisoned you know almost a thousand people who protested uh against the government uh a couple of years ago so so yeah it’s a it continues to be a difficult relationship I imagine another area they could give a bit would be step back from this relationship with Russia which since the start of the Ukraine war has actually got slightly tighter hasn’t it yeah I mean this has been extraordinary to watch really I mean right at the the beginning of of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine Cuba in in sort of events like at the United Nations it tended to abstain it tried to have a neutral position um but actually what’s happened in the last few months is it’s had a much closer position uh uh the president of Cuba went to Moscow uh just a few weeks ago and there he said you know to Putin’s face we absolutely support uh the Russian military operation you have you know Cuba’s total backing you know which which in a way you know this is how this is how politics works but it is a bit surprising um if you take the view of course that that you know Russia has invaded a Sovereign Nation and there is Cuba you know which has long pushed it sort of anti Anti-Imperialist line um apparently uh supporting the the invasion of a neighbor but of course the Cuban government would frame it in a very diff different way and you know say that the whole war was was was a a result of NATO expansion etc etc and of course that is exactly what they do but the real reason uh is that you know Cuba needs Russia right now um Cuba needs oil I’m I’m speaking to you to from Venezuela which does provide quite a lot of oil to Cuba but not quite as much as it used to and there have been big Power Cuts in Cuba its economy is in a real trouble so uh Cuba Finds Its friends wherever it can and one key one you know in the in the current situation is Russia so what are we to believe about this um this flotilla then of Russia going into Cuba you know the messaging from Cuba you’ve already spoken about um America doesn’t appear to be too conc concerned but the would you look at it and think you know is this Russia I guess testing the water with America I think it’s a sort of Russia pointing out that you know it’s it’s not in a corner it can it can exert its power uh sort of wherever it wants and in a POS in a place that’s right on the doorstep of the United States you know this isn’t a it’s not a massive exer Display of Power these these are these are this is a frigate a submarine A tug and a fuel a sort of tanker boat so it’s it’s not um the Russian sort of red Fleet of the of the Cold War being back but it is definitely a message um and and you know the Russian or Moscow will will will repeatedly say you know this is what the United States does the whole time it does uh Naval drills all over the world uh so does China so do all the great Powers um but it is as I say it’s a message that uh you know there will be people in the United States that would hope that in this region everyone is on the US side but of course they’re not it’s not just Cuba there’s also Nicaragua and here in Venezuela we do expect uh it hasn’t been confirmed but it’s quite likely that the the the Russian naval flotilla uh will come to Cuba come to Venezuela too after it after its stay in Cuba and what does your average Joe on the street or should I say XA on the street of uh of Cuba think you know I would imagine if they need oil and you know they ain’t getting any help from America they’ll take it where it comes from they must be fairly satisfied um if Russia are coming to their aid are they yeah I mean actually I think there is there is a definite defin definitely sort of friendship a feeling of friendship in Cuba towards Russia you know this is a country that uh you know they forged extremely close ties during the Soviet period it all sort of went horribly wrong at the end but that doesn’t mean that that Cubans don’t like Russians uh many Cubans have Russian names many Cubans Drive laders uh they have in recent uh years like the last couple of years been a whole lot of Russian tourists who’ve been going to Cuba um so no I don’t think there’s any sort of animosity or really sort of fear in Cuba uh about this this Russian presence but I think there’s a degree of realism too that you know Cuba has repeatedly hoped to find uh a foreign savior in a way it it’s you know it has been quite reliant on on outside powers to get it through uh its own difficulties and repeatedly you know it’s worked for a bit but but not forever so there there are also plenty of people in Cuba saying you know somehow we need to get our act together despite all the problems we’ve got and you know of course the US embargo being being one key part of that um but no I think uh uh when I was last in Havana you you know you did notice quite a a strong Russian presence particularly these tourists and things like you know uh Russian uh the menus in certain restaurants Etc are in Russian so no no question they are welcome and in fact as I’m speaking to you I’ve just been seeing some images just before I spoke to you of of quite a few Cubans Gathering uh on the Havana sort of um seafront to watch the arrival of these ships and and shortly there’s going to be a 21 gon a 21 Canon salute we hear and just finally you know you’ve you’ve talked about how there not being a massive show of strength by Russia but it is a message um what would it take for Russia to sort of send in this direction that would then start American concerns I guess I I think uh one of the things the US has been keeping an eye on and this doesn’t just apply to Russia but also China is any evidence of a sort of more permanent military presence in Cuba and and elsewhere in this region that’s something uh that is they’re very sensitive about um now of course I should again you should you have to sort of see it from both sides and of course Cuba will mention that there is a US base on uh Cuban territory in in Guantanamo Bay but um uh that that that is as I say what what the United States uh has been sort of digging around a bit looking at there was there was some stories that possibly you know China had set up um an intelligence base in in Cuba probably that came to nothing but um if those if those ships sail away I think the United States will be uh pretty relax but if there’s a sign of anything more permanent then then things do change for

By sending naval ships to the Caribbean Sea Russia is trying to “exert its power” says, Latin America and the Caribbean correspondent, Stephen Gibbs. This follows just weeks after the Cuban president visited Moscow to reinforce his support of Putin.

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