Moscow to deploy troops to Latin American Bases if talks failed: Duma Lawmaker
Russia might deploy military equipment near the US to balance out NATO forces stationed near Russia's border, a top Russian lawmaker says.
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Putin and his Venezuelan counterpart (Sputnik)
A top Russian lawmaker has reignited the debate on how Russia might turn a strategic corner in its security assurances negotiations with NATO, including putting Russian military equipment near the US to balance out NATO forces stationed near Russia's borders.
United Russia MP Yuri Shvytkin, who is Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Defense Committee, told reporters on Monday that “We have enough military-technical measures that will force the United States to take care of its own security, and not Ukraine, which is too far away from them. For example, the deployment of military bases in Latin America may be part of the answer.”
“The United States is afraid of this, because it will be close enough there for our missiles to fly up. I think that the Americans do not really want the missiles to reach New York or Washington quickly,” Shvytkin stressed.
Last month, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov stated in an interview with the RTVI television network that Moscow may transfer Russian military infrastructure to Cuba or Venezuela.
At the time, he said that “the President of Russia has repeatedly spoken out on this topic, including what measures could be taken by the Russian Navy if things go completely in the direction of provoking Russia and further strengthening military pressure on us”.
Ryabkov went on to stress that: “We do not want this, the diplomats must come to an agreement.”
Earlier this week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said it was "unacceptable" for Moscow to demand NATO to respect its area of influence by promising not to expand eastward or station particular weapons in Eastern Europe.
“We can’t go back to a world of spheres of influence,” he told CNN.
Following Ryabkov's remarks, US President Joe Biden bragged that the US established a sphere of influence across Latin America, renaming the region "America's front yard".
More recently, Russian Tu-160 White Swan bombers visited Venezuela on multiple occasions, most recently in 2018 amid a tense situation with Ukraine and NATO. At the time, Caracas and Moscow were said to have agreed on the principle of creating a Russian military facility on the Caribbean Island of La Orchila.
The West and Ukraine have accused Russia of amassing soldiers near the Ukrainian border in preparation for a potential “invasion” in recent months. Russia has stated that it has no plans to launch a military operation against Ukraine, but that it does have the right to maneuver its soldiers within its own borders.
Russia voiced concern about NATO military action near its borders and continuous military backing for Ukraine, which includes an increase in the number of Western instructors in the breakaway Donbas region. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that Moscow does not rule out the possibility that the West's "hysteria" around Ukraine is intended to hide Kiev's attempts to sabotage the Minsk Agreements on Donbass.
