Analysis: Russian ships deployed in Cuba are a “demonstration of forces” by Putin

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The arrival of some ships and a nuclear submarine of the Russian Navy to the Cuban coasts has revived the feeling of the Cold War. The Cuban authorities have rushed to reassure international actors, and indirectly NATO, confirming that the visit of the sailors is part of a series of diplomatic activities as a sign of the good relationship between both countries.

Although both Canada and the United States have mobilized ships in the area, the White House has confirmed that does not see this movement as a threat for its national security in an attempt to dispel from memory the disastrous memories of 1962 and the missile crisis that kept the world in suspense and raised fears of a nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union.

Although there are no signs of a threat to the region according to governments of the countries involved, security experts recognize that the situation is, to say the least, disturbing for the United States.

That’s what he thinks Manuel Gazapo, doctor in International Relations and institutional director of Universae. “The movement of Russian diplomacy with respect to Cuba is an element that, without a doubt, worries the United States” although he recognizes that “It does not represent a really serious situation either. or worrying in the face of its national security, at least at this moment.

Tension between Washington and Moscow has increased

You have to take into account the international context in which this rapprochement of Russia with Cuba occurs, when the West has turned its back on the Kremlin after the invasion of Ukraine and the tension between Washington and Moscow has increased due to the war.

“The current international situation is characterized by vulnerability, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity“explains the security expert to ‘Euronews’. Manuel Gazapo agrees with the influence of the Ukrainian war on this and other international geostrategic movements.

“The ukraine war, without a doubt it has been a factor that has drastically altered international relations and the process of dialogue between some actors and others. Faced with this scenario, Russia has tried to activate new alliances and reactivate others that previously existed, but that they had been in a kind of ‘stand-by’ process. This may be the case of Cuba,” he explains.

It is something that coincides Juan Carlos Pereiraprofessor in Contemporary History and great expert on the Cold War as well as the relations between Russia, Cuba and the United States. The professor points out a specific fact and assures that it is “an attempt by Russia because the United States has authorized the use of certain weapons in the war in Ukraine.”

“A show of force”

Pereira clarifies: “It is not that there can be a confrontation, but I believe that Putin wants to show his strength, his power against what they consider the external enemy, it is a demonstration of force, of Russia’s power with the submarine and with the battleship”.

However, both the Russian Ministry of Defense and the Cuban Government itself and even the White House have reiterated that the presence of the Moscow ships They do not pose a threat. However, it seems clear that it does imply a rapprochement of Cuba with the Soviet axis despite the fact that in recent years its relationship with the United States had attempted to normalize.

“We must take into account that the rapprochements between Cuba and the United States were especially developed during the last stage of Barack Obama but subsequently, with the following Republican and Democratic administrations, that path has not continued to be built or promoted,” says Gazapo.

Russia seems to have taken advantage of this pause in relations between Havana and Washington “to to be an important actor again, “not only passively, but also actively in the contemporary evolution of Cuba.”

The professor in Contemporary History explains to ‘Euronews’ that Russia and Cuba are shaking hands again because “Putin feels harassed by a large part of the international community and It approaches other allies such as China, India and now Cuba“This same Friday, hundreds of Cubans visited the fleet that is in their country and will remain there until June 17.

The visit of natives and tourists to these ships would reaffirm that they do not have a war mission, but mobilizing them “is still a show of power that fits within deterrence strategies exercised by all countries within the geopolitical board,” says Manuel Gazapo in reference to the Kazan nuclear-powered submarine that is part of the squadron.

But Russia has not only transferred part of its Navy to visit Cuba within the framework of its diplomatic relations, it has taken the opportunity to carry out military exercises in the Atlantic Ocean. “Russia has taken advantage of the stage to show his war muscle, as has already been done on other occasions when holding bilateral meetings with other countries,” adds the institutional director of Universae.

Echoes of the Cold War

All these events reminiscent of the Cold War period, although Juan Carlos Pereira clarifies that we are far from a conflict on such a scale. “A Cold War has a very precise definition and represents the confrontation between two superpowers with the use of nuclear weapons as a deterrent element.” That is not happening currently, but we are “in a moment of multipolar tension with “Russia, China and the United States.”

This is a duel between the United States and Russia particularly; but it is important to take into account the role that European Union You should play in these types of situations. “It must be a priority be a global player“capable of maintaining its security bubble and transmitting serenity to the rest of the international community,” says Gazapo, although he does not consider it “a priority for Brussels given that There are another series of much more urgent points from a diplomatic, economic and military point of view”.