Dave Sherwood
HAVANA (Reuters) – A Canadian navy patrol ship sailed into Havana early on Friday, simply hours after the US introduced {that a} quick assault submarine had docked on the Guantanamo naval base in Cuba, with two ships following the arrival of the Russian After the warship.
The convergence of Russian, Canadian and American ships in Cuba, the communist-run island nation simply 145 kilometers (90 miles) south of Florida, was harking back to Chilly Struggle-era tensions and tensions between Russia and the West over the battle in Ukraine Relationship.
Nevertheless, each the US and Cuba have mentioned the Russian warships pose no menace to the area. Russia additionally views the arrival of its warships in ally Cuba as routine.
The Russian Protection Ministry mentioned the Admiral Gorshkov frigate and the Kazan nuclear-powered submarine sailed into the port of Havana on Wednesday after conducting “high-precision missile weapons” coaching within the Atlantic Ocean and have been half-submerged with crew members on the deck. .
Canada’s Margaret Brooke patrol vessel started getting into the Port of Havana early Friday on what the Canadian Joint Operations Command mentioned was a “port go to… in recognition of the long-standing bilateral relationship between Canada and Cuba.” half.
Hours earlier, U.S. Southern Command mentioned the quick assault submarine USS Helena had arrived for a routine port go to at Guantanamo Bay, the U.S. naval base on the tip of the island about 850 kilometers (530 miles) southeast of Havana.
“The ship’s location and transit have been beforehand deliberate,” Southern Command mentioned on X.
Cuba’s Ministry of Overseas Affairs mentioned it had realized of the arrival of the U.S. submarine, however was not pleased about it.
“A naval go to to a rustic is often the results of an invite, however this isn’t the case,” mentioned Undersecretary of Overseas Affairs Carlos Fernandez de Cosio.
“Clearly, we don’t just like the presence on our territory (of a submarine) belonging to a rustic that maintains a hostile official and de facto coverage towards Cuba.”
A Canadian diplomat described the arrival of the Margaret Brooke as “routine and a part of the long-term cooperation between our two nations”, including that it had “nothing to do with the presence of Russian ships”.
Russia and Cuba have been shut allies beneath the previous Soviet Union, and tensions with Washington over “yard” communism peaked within the 1962 Cuban Missile Disaster.
Requested what message Moscow was sending, Russian Overseas Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova mentioned on Thursday that when Russia sends alerts by diplomatic channels, the West by no means appears to note.
“As quickly because it involves workouts or maritime navigation, we instantly hear questions and need to know the content material of the data,” Zakharova mentioned. “Why can solely alerts associated to our military and navy be transmitted to the West?”
The Russian warship is anticipated to stay in Havana port till Monday.
