From Ukraine Today:
Russia wants to deploy rocket systems in Cuba
New Caribbean Crisis could become Kremlin's answer to U.S. presence in Turkey
Two Russian lawmakers from the Communist Party propose to deploy rocket systems in Cuba. This action could be an answer to the presence of the United States in Turkey.
According to the deputies, Washington is going to place its high mobility artillery rocket systems (HIMARS) in Turkish south. Russia fears the weapons will threaten its allies.
"The fire range of these rockets is around 500 kilometers. It poses a potential threat to Russia's partners, primarily, Armenia", the officials said.
The deputies add Soviet activity in Cuba during the Caribbean crisis in 1962 forced the United States to abandon their similar plans to deploy artillery in Turkey. Now the lawmakers propose to resort to this strategy once again.
"First, we should locate our artillery in Cuba with fire range similar to HIMARS. Then, it seems rational to restore our Signals intelligence facility (SIGINT) in Lourdes", Russian lawmakers claim.
Earlier Turkish Foreign Affairs Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu confirmed the U.S. was going to deploy artillery near Syrian border. It could be used to target areas held by the so-called Islamic State. According to the Minister, the HIMARS systems will be arriving in May.
