Russian warships enter Havana harbour for military exercises near Cuba

Cuban Foreign Minister visits Moscow to meet Sergey Lavrov

The Russian nuclear-powered submarine Kazan, part of the naval detachment visiting Cuba, arrives at Havana's harbour. AFP

Russian naval vessels, including a nuclear-powered submarine, arrived in Cuban waters on Wednesday ahead of military exercises.

The Admiral Gorshkov entered the harbour near Cuba's capital, Havana, in the morning and fired a 21-gun salute, which was answered by Cuban forces, according to Russian state news agency RIA.

“This visit stems from the historic friendly relations between Cuba and Russia and is strictly in line with international rules,” the Cuban Defence Ministry said last week.

“None of the ships carry nuclear weapons, so their docking in our country does not pose a threat to the region.”

The Russian naval ships are expected to remain in Cuban waters until next Monday.

The US military said the Russian naval vessels could also stop in Venezuela, another long-time ally of Moscow.

“We've been tracking the Russians' plans for this. This is not a surprise,” said Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh.

“You've seen them do this, these type of port calls before, and these are routine naval visits that we've seen under different administrations.”

She added that the US always monitors foreign vessels operating near its territorial waters.

“We, of course, take it seriously, but these exercises don't pose a threat to the United States.”

Though Russian warships have previously entered the Caribbean for joint military exercises with regional allies, this latest sojourn comes weeks after President Joe Biden authorised Ukraine to use US weapons to carry out strikes inside Russia in a bid to protect the embattled city of Kharkiv.

The military exercises come as Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla visits Moscow to meet his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.

During a joint press conference, Mr Lavrov stressed the need to prevent the resurgence of Nazism, emphasising that “the threat of such a development of events, unfortunately, exists as a result of the policy of the United States and its European allies”, according to the Cuban Foreign Ministry.

He also said that Moscow will continue to provide humanitarian assistance to Havana amid the continuing US blockade of the island, with both countries continuing the fight “for the formation of a just polycentric world order based on the principles generally accepted international law”.

Cuba has been under a US embargo since the early 1960s when Communist forces took over the country. The embargo, which according to Havana has cost the country more than $144 billion, blocks businesses with US ties from engaging in trade with Cuba.

Havana and Moscow have had good relations since the Cold War. In 1962, Cuba briefly hosted Russian nuclear weapons, a 13-day stand-off with the US known as the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Late last year, reports surfaced that Cubans were being recruited for the Russian military to aid in its war in Ukraine.

In September, Cuban authorities said they had arrested 17 people on charges related to a ring of human traffickers that allegedly lured young men to serve in the Russian military, Reuters reported.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel emphasised in October that his country “is not part of the war in Ukraine”.