Russian leader visits Cold War ally Cuba
HAVANA (Reuters) - If Russian President Dmitry Medvedev needs reminding of how times have changed when he visits Cold War ally Cuba on Thursday, he should look no further than Moscow's old Lourdes intelligence base in Havana.
Once a symbol of Soviet power in Latin America and the Caribbean, the building where Russian spies once eavesdropped on the United States is now an information university teaching Cubans computer science.
Medvedev is the first Russian leader to travel to Cuba since 2000 as Moscow flexes its muscles in Latin America by signing trade, military and energy deals in Washington's traditional sphere of influence.
Russia is likely to commit to rebuilding its alliance with Cuba, abandoned after the Soviet days. Russian oil companies want to drill offshore, vehicle makers are looking to boost exports and the military has talked about air defense cooperation with Havana.
Medvedev's visit to Cuba comes as U.S.-Russian ties have frayed over the Georgia war and Washington's missile defense plans in Europe. But Cuba will likely take a pragmatic approach to renewing ties with Moscow if U.S. President-elect Barack Obama follows through on his offers to roll back some restrictions on the island, analysts say.
"Even with Russia's differences with the United States, they are not interested in worsening relations," said Vadin Teperman at the Latin American Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences. "Cuba is expecting some positive changes from Obama, made during his campaign."
EYE ON TRADE
Medvedev's Cuba visit comes on the heels of a trip by Chinese President Hu Jintao, who put off some of Cuba's debt payments and agreed to cooperation deals to strengthen ties between the two communist nations.
The Kremlin has said Medvedev's tour is mainly about trade. Russia is looking to expand its presence in Latin America and new markets as a way to help ward off the impact of the global economic crisis battering world oil prices.
Russia has also sent warships to conduct naval exercises in the Caribbean with OPEC-member Venezuela, where President Hugo Chavez is a strong ally of Cuba and a persistent adversary of the United States.
Cuban President Raul Castro may visit Russia next year and Moscow has called for Washington to lift the economic embargo on the Caribbean island imposed in 1962 when Castro's brother, Fidel Castro, was in power.
Moscow was Havana's main benefactor during the Cold War but the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 battered Cuba's economy. Ties soured further after Russian President Vladimir Putin visited in late 2000 and closed down the Lourdes base just months later.
"Cuba is involved in a series of diplomatic initiatives aimed at diversifying its portfolio on the diplomatic and commercial front," said Julia Sweig at the Council on Foreign Relations. "This is pure pragmatism."
(Reporting by Patrick Markey, editing by Chris Wilson)
