I dunno. To me, the thought of the Russian military "considering" stationing bombers in Cuba just doesn't seem kosher.

...the aircraft under consideration were Tu-160 and Tu-95 MC bombers. Russia gave up in 2001 a base in Lourdes, Cuba, which had been set up during the Soviet era.

The former commander of this base, Lieutenant-General Mikhail Oparin, was quoted as welcoming the idea. 'Russia's air fleet must work towards a presence in every corner of the world,' he told Interfax news agency. The US, after all, had bases worldwide.

'An extended radius of action for our air force could be a response to the one-sided action of the USA in setting up a strategic system on Russia's borders,' he added.

The newspaper said that from a technical point of view there would be no problem basing Russian bombers on Cuba for a limited period. However, Moscow's view on doing this was unclear.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, while he was still president, had threatened 'reprisal measures' if the US went ahead with basing its missile defence shield in Poland and the Czech Republic. He warned that Russia was able to target central Europe with its own missiles.

Russia views the planned deployment of ten US missiles in Poland and a radar facility the Czech Republic as a threat. However, the presence of Russian bombers on Cuba would provoke an international conflict, the Izvestiya report said.

Posted by: eddiebear at 11:17 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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