Russian Destroyers Pull In To Havana

Photo: Russia's ship Admiral Chabanenko arrives in Havana Bay, Friday, Dec. 19, 2008. Three warships from Russia's northern fleet arrived for the Russian Navy's first visit to Cuba since the Cold War. (AP Photo/Javier Galeano)

From CBS News

(CBS/AP) A Russian anti-submarine destroyer and two logistical warships docked in Cuba on Friday, a thumb-your-nose port call aimed at Washington in waters just 90 miles from Florida.

The arrival extends a tour that included stops in Venezuela and Panama and shows Moscow's desire to flex some muscle in America's backyard. It comes even as President Raul Castro reaches out to the U.S., offering to negotiate directly with President-elect Barack Obama and proposing an unprecedented swap of political prisoners.

"That is Cuba's diplomatic specialty, playing both sides, or all sides, on every issue," said Daniel Erikson, director of Caribbean programs at the Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington think tank.

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My Comment: I am not impressed by this story. A few old boats showing the flag. Big deal.

Cuban President To Visit Russia, Alliance Grows

From Reuters:

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Cuban President Raul Castro will visit Russia next year, the Kremlin said on Tuesday, in a new sign that Moscow is reviving a Cold War-era trade and military alliance.

Moscow also repeated calls for Washington to lift the economic embargo imposed on the Caribbean island in 1962 when Castro's brother, Communist revolutionary Fidel Castro, was in power.

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Russian Military Assistance To Cuba

A Russian officer takes a picture of a TU-95 bomber, or Bear, at a military airbase in Engels some 900 km (559 miles) south of Moscow August 7, 2008. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin

Russia Military Offers Cuba Air Defence Aid
-- Yahoo News/Reuters

Russia will offer to share its air defence expertise with Cuba when a military delegation visits the Caribbean island this week, Interfax news agency reported on Monday.

"The Russian and Cuban military will exchange experience in organising tactical air defence and in training officers," Interfax quoted Russian Land Forces spokesman Igor Konashenkov as saying.

The two sides will "discuss the prospect of training Cuban servicemen at the tactical air defence academies and training centres in Russia, using upgraded Russian-made military hardware," Interfax quoted him as saying.

The delegation, led by the chief of Russia's tactical air defence headquarters, Lieutenant General Alexander Maslov, will also look at "ways to strengthen relations between the Russian armed forces and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba," Konashenkov was quoted as saying.

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My Comment: This should be no surprise. Russia wants to do in South and Central America what it perceives the U.S. is doing in its backyard.