Toward a new Cuba-Russia alliance?
By
Salim Lamrani
From
Rebelión
On
July 8, 2008, tension between Russia and the United States rose a
notch after the signing of a treaty between Prague and Washington
approving the installation of a radar station in the Czech Republic,
a key piece in the United States’ anti-missile shield. Despite the
displeasure of most Czech citizens, Czech Foreign Minister Karel
Scharzenberg sealed the accord with U.S. Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice. According to the White House, this military arsenal
is intended to protect that region of the world from "rogue
states." Unconvinced by that explanation, Moscow sees in this
bellicose display a threat to its national security. (1)
Russian
President Dmitri Medvedev and his foreign minister denounced "the
nearness to Russian territory of elements of strategic U.S. power."
By
Salim Lamrani Read Spanish Version
From
Rebelión
On
July 8, 2008, tension between Russia and the United States rose a
notch after the signing of a treaty between Prague and Washington
approving the installation of a radar station in the Czech Republic,
a key piece in the United States’ anti-missile shield. Despite the
displeasure of most Czech citizens, Czech Foreign Minister Karel
Scharzenberg sealed the accord with U.S. Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice. According to the White House, this military arsenal
is intended to protect that region of the world from "rogue
states." Unconvinced by that explanation, Moscow sees in this
bellicose display a threat to its national security. (1)
Russian
President Dmitri Medvedev and his foreign minister denounced "the
nearness to Russian territory of elements of strategic U.S. power."
(2) Prime Minister Vladimir Putin also criticized the duplicity of
the Bush administration: "They tell us this defense is useful
against Iranian missiles, but no Iranian missile has that range. It
seems evident, then, that this situation concerns us Russians as
well." (3)
By
way of responding, Putin made a call for the restoration of relations
with Cuba, without ruling out military cooperation. "We must
reestablish our position in Cuba and other countries," he said.
The Western media alluded to the eventual installation of a Russian
military base in the Caribbean that might cause a new crisis similar
to the one in October 1962, which almost ended in a nuclear
Apocalypse. (4)
On
July 31, 2008, Cuban President Raúl Castro welcomed Russian
Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin, to "broaden the process of
reestablishing economic, commercial and financial exchanges,"
according to a joint statement. The cooperation particularly involves
the sectors of energy, mineral resources, agricultural
transportation, health services and telecommunications. Nowhere did
the official document mention any accord of a military nature. (5)
The
fact is that it is very unlikely that Havana will accept any new
military cooperation with the Kremlin. For several reasons. First,
the Cubans did not much appreciate the Russian statements about a new
military collaboration, made without consultation with Havana. Also,
the revolutionary government knows very well that the installation of
a foreign arsenal in its territory would only exacerbate tensions
with Washington. Since 1960, the United States has imposed inhuman
economic sanctions on Cuba that affect the most vulnerable levels of
the population.
In
addition, a Russian military base would not be at all useful to the
Cubans, not even in terms of national defense. They know full well
(and have known for a long time) that in the event of a military
aggression by Washington, Russia would not intervene in their defense
and that they would be on their own. Fidel Castro raised that
eventuality during his conversations with renowned journalist Ignacio
Ramonet:
"At
a certain time, we came to the conclusion that, if we were attacked
directly by the United States, the Soviets would never fight on our
side. We couldn’t even ask them to. With the development of modern
technologies, it was naive to think, ask or expect [the Soviets] to
fight against the United States if [the Americans] were to intervene
in this little island, 90 miles from U.S. territory.
"And
we became totally convinced that that support would never happen.
Furthermore, one day we asked that question to the Soviets,
point-blank, several years before the USSR disappeared. ‘Tell us
frankly.’ ‘No,’ they answered. We knew that’s what they would answer.
So, then, faster than ever before, we speeded up the development of
our concept and perfected the tactical and strategic ideas with which
this Revolution triumphed and even defeated on the battlefield an
army 100 times more numerous and God knows how many times more
powerful in terms of weapons. After that reply, we dug our roots into
our concepts, deepened them and strengthened ourselves to such a
degree that we can say today that this country is militarily
invulnerable, and not in terms of weapons of mass destruction."
(6)
Finally,
Cubans have good memories and still remember the triple betrayal
committed on them by Moscow in the past. First, during the October
1962 crisis, Nikita Khrushchev decided to withdraw the missiles
without even bothering to consult with the government of Osvaldo
Dorticós and Fidel Castro.
Later,
when the Soviet bloc collapsed, President Boris Yeltsin overnight
broke all economic, commercial and financial accords with Havana,
plunging the nation into the worst economic crisis in its history.
Finally,
in 2001, Vladimir Putin made the unilateral decision to shut down the
radar station at Lourdes in Cuba, also without consulting with the
island’s authorities, to satisfy the demands of George W. Bush.
Nevertheless, Lourdes was vital for the security of the Caribbean
nation and generated revenues of US$200 million a year to Cuba.
Russia
and Cuba have a long record of friendship, which will not end soon.
The two nations appreciate and respect each other, and the ties they
have forged cannot be broken over geopolitical issues. But the
offenses of the past cannot be forgotten, same as this reality cannot
be overlooked: the defense of the Cuban nation depends only upon the
Cubans.
Notes
(1)
Stéphane Kovacs, «Bouclier antimissile: Prague signe un
accord avec les USA», Le Figaro, 8 July 2008.
(2)
Fabrice Nodé-Langlois, «Bouclier antimissile: Medvedev
menace», Le Figaro, 9 July 2008.
(3)
Libération, «Poutine: ‘Le bouclier antimissile américain
va relancer la course aux armements’», 4 June 2007.
(4)
The Associated Press , «Putin Calls For Restoring Position in
Cuba», 4 August 2008.
(5)
RIA-Novosti , «Russie-Cuba: un vice-premier ministre russe reçu
par Raúl Castro», 1 August 2008.
(6)
Ignacio Ramonet, "One Hundred Hours With Fidel" (Havana:
Publishing Bureau of the Council of State, 2006), Third edition, pp.
415-16.
Salim
Lamrani is a French professor, writer and journalist who specializes
on Cuba-U.S. relations. He has published the books "Washington
Contre Cuba" (Pantin: Le Temps des Cerises, 2005), "Cuba
face à l’Empire" (Genève: Timeli, 2006) and "Fidel
Castro, Cuba et les Etats-Unis" (Pantin: Le Temps des Cerises,
2006). He has just published "Double Morale. Cuba, l’Union
européenne et les droits de l’homme" (Paris: Editions
Estrella, 2008).
