The Kremlin's statement about the possible deployment of Russian military
assets in Cuba and Venezuela underscores the seriousness of the ongoing
situation in the United States. The warning was expressed by a former US
administration official under President Reagan, Dr Paul Craig Roberts.
Roberts then added that all problems could be solved by providing security
guarantees for Russia.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov explained Monday (17/1/2022) “Russia is
exploring options to ensure its security, not ruling out the deployment of
Russian missiles in Cuba and Venezuela if the US and NATO ignore Moscow's
concerns and continue military development at Russia's doorstep. ”
Last week, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, who led the
Russian delegation in January 10 talks with the US in Geneva, told RTVI TV
that he "would not confirm nor exclude" the possibility that Russia could
send military assets to the two Latin American countries in the event of
negotiations. with the US and NATO failed and alliance expansion continued.
Commenting on Ryabkov's remarks, the White House denounced it as a "bluff".
He added that if Russia started moving in that direction, the US would face
it "firmly."
Cuban Missile Crisis 2.0?
"The Kremlin has long held back and responded diplomatically to Western
provocations, but has realized that there are hostile intentions behind the
growing ring of military bases around Russia and that this must stop if
Russia is to become an independent nation," said Dr Paul Craig Roberts,
former assistant secretary of the treasury under Ronald Reagan and former
member of the Cold War Committee.
"Russia is right that security should be mutually beneficial," said Dr
Roberts. He added, “The Kremlin has made clear Russia will not allow its
security to be further compromised. Peskov's mention of possible Russian
deployments in Cuba and Venezuela is meant to remind that today the Kremlin
feels as threatened as the Kremlin did in the early 1960s because of US
missiles stationed in Turkey."
"The consequence of the US action is bringing Russian missiles into Cuba, a
dangerous situation that Kennedy and Khrushchev resolved by removing
missiles from Turkey and Cuba," he said.
On September 9, 1962, Soviet ballistic missiles were delivered to Cuba
during the Soviet Union's covert Operation Anadyr. The US was unaware for a
whole month that Soviet rockets had been deployed in the Caribbean nation.
Operation Anadyr was conducted in response to the failed US invasion of Cuba
and the deployment of medium-range "Jupiter" nuclear missiles in Italy and
Turkey, beginning in 1961, by the administration of US President John
Kennedy.
"From there, (US) missiles could reach all of the western Soviet Union,
including Moscow and Leningrad (and that doesn't include the nuclear-armed
'Thor' missiles that the US had aimed at the Soviet Union from bases in
Britain)," wrote American journalist Benjamin Schwarz in a statement. his
2013 editorial was titled "The Real Cuban Missile Crisis" for The Atlantic.
The Cuban Missile Crisis lasted from October 16, 1962 to October 28, 1962
and was resolved after then-President Kennedy agreed to dismantle all
Jupiter MRBMs deployed in Turkey against the Soviet Union, in exchange for
the removal of Soviet nuclear missiles from the Caribbean nation.
"Despite the lessons, the US is replaying this scenario and the Kremlin
objected," said Dr. Roberts. “If Cuba and Venezuela are willing, nothing can
stop Russia from placing missiles in those countries.
However, I don't think Peskov did anything but emphasize the seriousness of
the situation to Washington. Russia could easily place its new hypersonic
missiles on surface ships or submarines off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts
of the US," he said.
Dr Roberts noted, "At this point the Kremlin is trying to convey to
Washington that without security guarantees, the situation will degenerate
into a confrontational crisis."
Meanwhile, the White House's warnings about "firm" action if Russia deploys
its assets in Cuba and Venezuela appear to contradict US Secretary of State
Antony Blinken's assertion that "spheres of influence" are ideas "that
should be stopped after World War II."
Subsequently, in 2013 Secretary of State John Kerry declared the end of the
Monroe Doctrine in a speech to the Organization of American States (OAS).
Under the Monroe Doctrine, a US policy initiated by President James Monroe
in 1823, Washington considered the Western Hemisphere its own backyard.
"When Washington says 'spheres of influence' are a thing of the past,
Washington means that no one but Washington has spheres of influence," said
Dr Roberts.
"In other words, this is an affirmation of US hegemony." He highlighted that
the whole problem "could be avoided only by providing Russia with security
guarantees."
In mid-December 2021, Moscow sent its draft security agreement to
Washington. Russia's proposals include legally binding guarantees of NATO's
non-expansion eastward, Ukraine's non-admission to the Western military bloc
and the withdrawal of the bloc's troops from member states that have joined
since 1997, among other measures.
American and European observers have previously noted Ukraine's membership
in NATO is a "big if" given that Germany and France have repeatedly opposed
it.
Meanwhile, NATO troops currently deployed in the post-Soviet republics and
the former Warsaw states serve as an annoying "deterrent" rather than an
actual "deterrent" to Russia.
"The refusal to provide guarantees demonstrates an act of hostility intended
against Russia by Washington," said Dr Roberts.
"Why else refuse security guarantees?" Although Russia's talks with the US,
NATO and the OSCE have not yet led to an immediate solution, mutual
consultations will continue.
US Secretary of State Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov are
scheduled to meet in Geneva on January 21, according to the US State
Department. Previously, Blinken will hold meetings with Ukrainian and German
officials on January 19 and January 20, respectively.
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