Russia "won't exclude" putting military hardware in Cuba or Venezuela amid "unsuccessful" talks with U.S. over Ukraine
CBSN
Moscow — A senior Russian diplomat wouldn't rule out the possibility of his country placing military infrastructure in Cuba or Venezuela, as the Kremlin called two recent rounds of talks with the U.S. and NATO as "unsuccessful." Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov, who led negotiations with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman in Geneva this week, said Thursday that he didn't want "to confirm anything, [but] won't exclude anything here either," when asked whether Russia might consider establishing a military presence in America's backyard.
"It depends on the actions of American colleagues," Ryabkov said Thursday in an interview with the RTVI channel, adding that Russia could also undertake unspecified "measures" involving its navy.
It was a significant ratcheting up of the tension between the U.S. and Russia in a week that may hoped would put diplomacy front and center. The current standoff between Moscow and Washington has been casually framed as a contemporary echo of the Cold War for weeks, but Ryabkov's remarks were sure to resonate loudly in the ears of Americans either aware of or old enough to remember the Cuban missile crisis of 1962.
