Havana, June 6 (EFE).- The Cuban Government confirmed this Thursday that a Russian naval detachment of three ships and a nuclear submarine will visit the port of Havana between June 12 and 17.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported in a statement that the “visit corresponds to the historical friendly relations between Cuba and the Russian Federation and is strictly in accordance with the international regulations” signed by Havana.
The note does not speak of military exercises, in contrast to recently published information that indicated, from US sources, that Russian ships were traveling to the Caribbean Sea to participate in maneuvers and that they could stop at ports in Cuba and Venezuela.
“None of the ships carry nuclear weapons, so their stopover in our country does not represent a threat to the region,” clarified the Cuban Foreign Ministry, which also indicated that “visits by naval units from other countries are a historical practice.” with nations with whom the country maintains “relations of friendship and collaboration.”
The ships that make up the Russian naval detachment are, according to the statement, the frigate Gorshkov, the nuclear-powered submarine Kazan, the fleet oil tanker Pashin and the rescue tug Nikolai Chiker.
The Russian frigate Admiral Gorshkov, the lead ship of the latest generation of frigates in the Russian Navy, carried out an exercise in January 2023 to train the launch of Tsirkon hypersonic missiles in the Atlantic using a computer simulation.
In February 2023, it participated in joint exercises with South Africa and China, and last March it joined the joint exercises carried out by the navies of China, Iran and Russia in the Gulf of Oman.
For its part, the Kazan is a nuclear-powered submarine with the capacity to fire cruise missiles that came into operation in 2021.
The statement from the Cuban Foreign Ministry indicated that upon its arrival at the port of Havana on June 12, the frigate Gorshkov will fire 21 salutes “as a salute to the Nation”, a gesture that will be replicated from the fortresses in the capital’s bay.
He added that during the Russian visit the sailors will carry out a program of activities with courtesy visits and tours of historical and cultural interest. EFE
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