The Russian Foreign Ministry did not “neither confirm nor rule out” the possibility of deploying Russian military bases in Cuba and Venezuela

“I don’t want to confirm or exclude anything,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov answered a question from the RTVi television channel about the possibility of deploying Russian military bases in close proximity to the United States – in Cuba and Venezuela – in case of failure of negotiations with the West.

According to Ryabkov, for the Americans, “the optionality of politics – foreign, military – is the cornerstone of ensuring the powerful influence of this country in the world.” And now, Ryabkov stressed, everything depends “on the actions of the American colleagues.”

The representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry recalled that Russian President Vladimir Putin had previously spoken on this topic many times, outlining what measures could be taken by the Navy, “if things go completely in the direction of provoking Russia and further strengthening military pressure.”

“We do not want this, the diplomats must come to an agreement,” Ryabkov stressed.

Recall that in 1962, one of the largest crises in the Caribbean occurred in relations between the USSR and the USA. The Caribbean crisis could lead to a global nuclear war. It was caused by the transfer and deployment in Cuba of military units and subdivisions of the Soviet army, equipment and weapons. This was the US response to Washington’s placement in Turkey in 1961 of Jupiter medium-range missiles, which could easily (due to the short flight time) reach cities in the western part of the Soviet Union, including Moscow and the main industrial centers of the USSR. In response, Moscow decided to deploy troops in Cuba, in close proximity to the US coast. As a result, the USSR removed the missiles from Cuba, and the United States from Turkey.