The statement points out that the station was established two years after the October 1962 "missile crisis," known in Cuba as the October Crisis, when the U.S. government threatened an invasion of Cuba and brought the world to the brink of nuclear war. Also mentioned is the military base that Washington provocatively maintains at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, in defiance of the will of the Cuban people.

The statement also refers to Bush's September 20 war speech, where the U.S. president threatened, "Every nation in every region now has a decision to make. Either you are with us or you are with the terrorists." Cuban president Fidel Castro responded to Bush's pronouncement in a speech two days later, which the Militant published in the October 15 issue.

The translation and subheadings are by the Militant.
 

International press agencies reported today that the president of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, stated that as of January 2002 his government would close its military and electronic monitoring bases in Cam Ranh, Vietnam, and Lourdes, Cuba.

With regard to Cuba, he stated specifically that "after lengthy negotiations with our Cuban partners, it was recognized that withdrawing the Electronic Radar Station from Cuba would be a positive move."

Also today, the chief of the general staff of the Russian armed forces, army commander Anatoly Kvashnin, stated that "Russia is withdrawing its military bases from Cuba and Vietnam as a result of the change in the military-political situation in the world, and in view of the savings in financial resources for the army and navy. The annual lease for the Electronic Radar Station is around $200 million, not counting the maintenance of staff. With this money we can buy and launch 20 reconnaissance satellites and purchase around 100 radars."

To avoid any errors or confusion, the government of Cuba would like to state that the two facilities should not have been lumped together in the Russian statement, because they differ greatly in their origins, purpose, and importance.

Cam Ranh was a naval facility built by the United States some 20,000 kilometers [12,400 miles] away from its territory and leased to the USSR in 1979, years after the war had ended. It is of barely any use for a country like Russia, which has had practically no surface vessel fleet since the disintegration of the Soviet Union.

At this time, Vietnam faces no threat of military aggression from the United States; relations between the two countries are normal. For Vietnam, the United States poses no risk whatsoever. There can be no doubt that the decision was previously discussed and approved by both countries.  
 
Established after October 1962 Crisis
The Lourdes Electronic Radar Station was established in 1964, two years after the October Crisis. The USSR did not pay a cent for the services it received from Cuba, in view of the close cooperation between the two countries at that time in both the economic and military fields.

In 1992, after the Soviet Union disintegrated and the Russian Federation fully assumed the rights and privileges of the former USSR, Russia unilaterally withdrew--as a result of negotiations and agreements with the United States--the military brigade that had remained in Cuba after the October Crisis for approximately 30 years. On the other hand, Russia expressed interest in maintaining the Lourdes Electronic Radar Station as an important element for its strategic security, particularly as a means of verifying strict compliance with the agreements on nuclear disarmament and nuclear weapons reduction adopted by the United States and Russia.

Despite flagrant violations of agreements, economic losses, and risks faced by Cuba, our government allowed the facility to remain without charging for the services that our country provided to Russia. This was the case only for a period of time, since there was no longer the slightest political or ideological connection between Cuba and Russia. The leaders of Russia had unilaterally destroyed all the agreements between the two countries. There was absolutely no reason left to provide it with free services of any kind.

Russia's reiterated interest in maintaining, expanding, and modernizing the Lourdes Electronic Radar Station, for the reasons mentioned above, led to an agreement that included payment to Cuba, in Russian commodities or hard currency, for the services provided by the station. Those payments totaled $90 million in 1992, $160 million in 1993–95, and the $200 million mentioned by army commander Anatoly Kvashnin from 1996 to 2000. This amount is not at all extraordinary when one considers that it is scarcely 3 percent of the damage caused to our country's economy by the disintegration of the socialist bloc and the USSR and the unilateral canceling of all agreements. In addition, Cuba benefited from some of the information obtained that was related to our own country's security.  
 
Pressure from Washington
The United States has relentlessly pressured Russia over the existence of this facility, despite the fact that the United States has maintained a military base in our territory for more than 100 years now, against our people's will.

During President Vladimir Putin's visit to Cuba in December 2000, the heads of state of our two countries spent several hours at the station on December 14. Not the slightest word was said about its closure. On the contrary, there was talk of further developing and modernizing it. President Putin literally said that day, "Russia and Cuba are interested in continuing to foster its activity. It has been in full operation for some time, in accordance with international standards and regulations. It has done so successfully, and Russia and Cuba declare themselves as countries interested in continuing to foster its activity."

At that time, only minor differences emerged between the Cuban and Russian military authorities involved, since the Russians wanted to reduce, by a relatively small margin, the economic compensation paid to Cuba. This had become a regular occurrence every year during reviews of the Russian side's repeated failure to meet its obligations.

Some months later, a curious change was observed in Russia's policy toward the Lourdes Electronic Radar Station. This took the form of noncompliance with its financial obligations, resulting in an accumulation of unfulfilled payments, and unjustifiable and exaggerated demands for a reduction in the amount paid for services rendered, despite the threefold increase in the price of oil, Russia's main export, and an obvious improvement in the Russian economy, shown by the growth of its reserves from some $12 billion to more than $30 billion, among other factors.  
 
U.S. unleashes war in Afghanistan
It was at this point that the current international crisis broke out, creating great tensions throughout the world. There had at all times been contacts and fluid, friendly relations between our two governments, despite the fact that they have adopted different positions: Cuba has taken a position against terrorism and against war, while Russia has offered broad support and cooperation for the war unleashed by the United States. Both fully agree on the fight against terrorism and the need for the United Nations to play its role.

The negotiations we have been carrying out with regard to the Lourdes Electronic Radar Station have yet to conclude. As of yesterday, October 16, at 2:00 p.m., we had not reached an agreement. A special envoy urgently proposed to us that the station be closed. Our response was that this would be the most untimely moment to take such a measure. At this very moment when the U.S. government's stance is more aggressive and warmongering than ever, when many countries are threatened in light of the U.S. president's September 20 speech, and when military operations have already begun in Afghanistan, the withdrawal of the station would be a message and a concession to the U.S. government constituting a serious threat to Cuba's security, and therefore, under those circumstances, we were not in agreement with its closure.

Just last night, we addressed the issue once again, putting forward a great many arguments with the Russian envoy, who had requested an urgent meeting. This envoy had brought another message from the Russian president, proposing something even worse: the advisability of publicly and immediately declaring that the agreement on the Lourdes Electronic Radar Station was canceled. We replied that we completely disagreed, and proposed that they consider other options. We noted that they have a reputation for being good chess players and that they knew there were 100 other moves they could seek, and not just the one they were proposing.

Russia's urgency, it was explained, stemmed from their wish for President Putin to meet President Bush at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Shanghai bearing these two pieces of news. It is easy to understand how much they would please their recipient: the one regarding Cam Ranh, while in fact unimportant, is highly symbolic; the one concerning Cuba would be a special gift.

Consequently, the agreement on the Lourdes Electronic Radar Station has not been canceled, since Cuba has not given its approval, and it will be necessary for Russia to continue negotiating with the Cuban government, since there are still important issues to resolve with regard to the matter.

Unfortunately, perhaps President Putin, because of the time difference, did not have a chance to hear our well-founded arguments and suggestions on the matter in time, before making his public announcement.

Cuba holds him and the enormous State of Russia in great esteem and deep respect.

For this reason, Cuba will refrain for the moment from issuing any judgments or criticisms regarding what was announced today by the wire services. It will simply limit itself to offering completely accurate information to our people, and to hoping that this difference can be resolved in a reasonable, fair, and honorable manner.

There is one thing that should be clearly understood by all, and on which no one should entertain illusions: in Cuba there is not and will never be panic or fear. This is the perfect atmosphere for calmness, levelheaded wisdom, integrity, dignity, and unlimited courage.
 
 
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