The US Department of Defense has assured this Wednesday that it is closely monitoring the arrival of a Russian fleet to the port of the Cuban capital, Havana, although it has recognized that it is a “routine naval visit” and “does not pose a threat” for the United States.
“We have been following the Russians’ plans. It’s not a surprise. We have seen them make these types of port calls before and these are routine naval visits that we have seen under different administrations,” Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said at a press conference.
“We will always constantly monitor any foreign vessel that operates near the territorial waters of the United States. Of course, We take it seriously, but these maneuvers do not pose a threat to the United States”Singh stressed.
Questioned about the US response to the Russian maneuvers, Singh pointed out that there are several Navy and Coast Guard fleets from both the United States and Canada that carry out “routine operations throughout the Atlantic.”
This Wednesday, a Russian fleet composed of three ships and a submarine of nuclear propulsion, as the Cuban authorities had announced last week, who stressed that this visit “does not represent threats.”
On the other hand, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported the day before that some vessels of this fleet had carried out training maneuvers with high precision missiles in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean as part of their trip to Cuba.
The first ship to arrive was the oil tanker “Akademik Pashin“and then the rescue tug”Nikolai Chiker”, while a Russian navy frigate and a nuclear-powered submarine waited on the high seas.
The frigate and submarine, which are part of a four-ship Russian naval detachment, later approached the coast after conducting missile exercises in the Atlantic Ocean en route to Cuba, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on Thursday. yesterday.
Cuba said last week that The visit was a common practice for warships from friendly countries from Havana. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Cuban regime said that the ships They were not nuclear weapons carriersa point echoed by US officials.
Havana is located just 160 kilometers from Key West, Florida, where a United States Naval Air Station is located. The visit comes as the Biden administration reflects on how far it can go to help defend Ukraine against Russia.
“Visiting Russian warships are Putin’s (Vladimir) way of reminding Biden that Moscow can challenge Washington in its own sphere of influence.“, said William Leograndeprofessor at American University.
The scale also coincides with the Cuba’s worst economic crisis in decadeswith shortages ranging from food, medicine and fuel, in addition to blackouts and the dissatisfaction of its residents on the streets.
(With information from EP and Reuters)
