Russia won't rule out military deployment to Cuba, Venezuela

MOSCOW — Russia connected Thursday sharply raised the stakes successful its quality with the West implicit Ukraine, with a apical diplomat refusing to regularisation retired a Russian subject deployment to Cuba and Venezuela if tensions with the United States mount.

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, who led the Russian delegation successful Monday’s talks with the U.S. successful Geneva, said helium could “neither corroborate nor exclude” the anticipation of Russia sending subject assets to Cuba and Venezuela if the talks neglect and U.S. unit connected Russia mounts.

The Russia-U.S. negotiations successful Geneva and a consequent NATO-Russia gathering failed to constrictive the spread connected Moscow’s information demands amid a buildup of Russian troops adjacent Ukraine. While Moscow demanded a halt to NATO expansion, Washington and its allies firmly rejected that arsenic a nonstarter.

Speaking successful an interrogation with Russian RTVI TV, Ryabkov noted that “it each depends connected the enactment by our U.S. counterparts,” pointing to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s informing that Moscow could instrumentality military-technical measures if the U.S. provokes the Kremlin and turns up subject unit connected it.

While voicing interest that NATO could perchance usage Ukrainian territory for the deployment of missiles susceptible of reaching Moscow successful conscionable 5 minutes, Putin has noted that Russian warships equipped with the latest Zircon hypersonic cruise rocket would springiness Russia a akin capableness if deployed successful neutral waters.

Zircon, which Putin said flies astatine 9 times the velocity of dependable to a scope of much than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles), is hard to intercept and could beryllium fitted with accepted oregon atomic warheads. It’s acceptable to beryllium commissioned by the Russian navy aboriginal this twelvemonth and installed aboard its frigates and submarines.

Ryabkov’s connection followed his comments past period comparing the existent tensions implicit Ukraine with the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis — erstwhile the Soviet Union deployed missiles to Cuba and the U.S. imposed a naval blockade of the island. That situation ended aft U.S. President John F. Kennedy and Soviet person Nikita Khrushchev agreed Moscow would retreat its missiles successful speech for Washington’s pledge not to invade Cuba and the removal of U.S. missiles from Turkey.

Soon aft his archetypal predetermination successful 2000, Putin ordered the closure of a Soviet-built subject surveillance installation successful Cuba arsenic helium sought to amended ties with Washington. Moscow has intensified contacts with Cuba successful caller years arsenic tensions with the U.S. and its allies mounted.

In December 2018, Russia concisely dispatched a brace of its nuclear-capable Tu-160 bombers to Venezuela successful a amusement of enactment for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro amid Western pressure.

Ryabkov said a refusal by the U.S. and its allies to see the cardinal Russian request for guarantees against the alliance’s enlargement to Ukraine and different ex-Soviet nations makes it hard to sermon specified issues arsenic arms power and confidence-building steps that Washington says it’s acceptable to negotiate.

“The U.S. wants to behaviour a dialog connected immoderate elements of the information concern ... to easiness the tensions and past proceed the process of geopolitical and subject improvement of the caller territories, coming person to Moscow,” helium said. “We person obscurity to retreat.”

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov besides described this week’s talks arsenic “unsuccessful” adjacent though helium noted “some affirmative elements and nuances.” “The talks were initiated to person circumstantial answers to factual main issues that were raised, and disagreements remained connected those main issues, which is bad,” helium said successful a league telephone with reporters.

Peskov warned of implicit rupture successful U.S.-Russian relations if projected sanctions targeting Putin and different apical civilian and subject leaders are adopted. The measures, projected by Senate Democrats, would besides people starring leading Russian fiscal institutions if Moscow sends troops into Ukraine.

“It concerns sanctions, which taking into relationship the inevitable capable response, efficaciously magnitude to an inaugural to rupture relations,” helium warned, adding that Russia volition respond successful kind.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov likewise denounced the projected sanctions arsenic a reflection of U.S. “arrogance,” adding that Moscow expects a written effect to its demands from the U.S. and NATO adjacent week successful bid to mull further steps.

The talks travel arsenic an estimated 100,000 Russian troops with tanks and different dense weapons are massed adjacent Ukraine’s eastbound border. Russia has dismissed concerns that it was preparing for an penetration and successful crook accused the West of threatening its information by positioning subject unit and instrumentality successful Central and Eastern Europe.

Peskov rebuffed the West’s calls for a Russian unit pullback from areas adjacent Ukraine. “It’s hardly imaginable for NATO to dictate to america wherever we should determination our equipped forces connected Russian territory,” helium said.

Tensions revolving astir Ukraine and Russia’s demands connected the West again appeared connected the array astatine Thursday’s gathering of the Organization for Security and Cooperation successful Vienna.

Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau, who assumed the presumption of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, noted successful his opening code that “the hazard of warfare successful the OSCE country is present greater than ever earlier successful the past 30 years.”

“For respective weeks, we person been faced with the anticipation of a large subject escalation successful Eastern Europe,” helium said.

In 2014, Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula aft the ouster of its Moscow-friendly person and threw its value down a separatist insurgency successful the country’s east, wherever implicit 14,000 radical person been killed successful much than 7 years of fighting.

The tensions implicit Ukraine besides figured precocious connected the docket of a gathering of European Union overseas ministers successful Brest, France. Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said it’s important “for Putin to recognize that the subject threats, the crippled he’s playing, the mode he’s trying to instrumentality america backmost to the darkest days of the Cold War, is wholly unacceptable.”

The EU’s overseas argumentation chief, Josep Borrell, reiterated that “any further aggression against Ukraine volition person monolithic consequences and terrible costs for Russia,” saying that the 27-country bloc is providing 31 cardinal euros ($35.5 million) successful logistical assistance to the Ukrainian service and is preparing to nonstop a ngo to assistance the state antagonistic cyber-attacks.

Emily Schultheis reported from Vienna. Lorne Cook successful Brussels contributed to this report.