DUSHANBE
, July 24, 2008, Asia-Plus –
Russia
should respond to
U.S.
missile defense plans for Central Europe by reopening a ”spy” facility in
Cuba
to gather intelligence on the
United States
, a Russian analyst said on Wednesday.
The electronic monitoring and surveillance facility near
Havana
at Torrens, also known as the
Lourdes
facility, the largest Russian Sigint site abroad, was shut down in October 2001 by then- president Vladimir Putin.
”
Cuba
is a unique place to gather intelligence on the
United States
. I believe that the reopening of this station is both possible and necessary amid the threat that the Americans are creating for Russia,” Alexander Pikayev, head of the disarmament and conflict resolution department at the Russian Academy of Sciences” World Economics and International Relations Institute, told a news conference at RIA Novosti.
”
Russia
has every right to respond,” he added.
Moscow
has strongly opposed the possible deployment by the
U.S.
of 10 interceptor missiles in
Poland
and a radar station in the
Czech
Republic
as a threat to its security.
Washington
says the missile shield is needed to deter possible strikes from “rogue states.”
A Russian military source was earlier quoted as saying that Russian strategic bombers could be stationed again in
Cuba
, only 90 miles from the
U.S.
coast, in response to the
U.S.
missile shield plans for
Central Europe
.
The
Lourdes
facility reportedly covered a 28 square-mile area, with 1,000-1,500 Russian engineers, technicians, and military personnel working at the base.
