Russia is considering reestablishing military presence in Cuba and Vietnam
Russia is considering reestablishing a military presence in Cuba and Vietnam where it had bases in the past, according to Deputy Defense Minister Nikolai Pankov, RIA Novosti reported.
“We are working on this, we see the problem” Pankov said, answering the question of whether the Defense Ministry plans to resume a military presence in countries such as Vietnam and Cuba.
Pankov did not elaborate further, but recently, the Deputy Head of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Russian State Duma, Aleksey Chepa, said that Russia “should re-assess the issue of our presence in other regions of the world. I believe that it would correspond with Russian interests to restore the bases in Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Africa that were closed,” in addition to the Middle East.
In April of 2016, members of the Communist Party sent an appeal to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu to resume the work of the radio-electronic intelligence center in Lourdes, Cuba that had been shut down in 2002. The Communist Party also hoped Russia would establish an anti-aircraft missile system on the Caribbean island.