Rusia to close « spy base » in Cuba.  Moscow´s move will be a big step in post cold-war relations, but a blow to Cuba´s economy

Financial Times, October 18, 2001-10-18 
By: Daniel Schweimler in Havana and Andrew Jack in Moscow

Russia has decided to close its intelligence centre in Cuba, President Vlladimir Putin said yesterday, signalling an important new step in post cold-war relations.  The Lourdes base, just south of Havana, has been a problem in relations between Moscow and Washington ever since it was built at an estimated cost of $3bn in the 1970s.  The US has always called it a spy station.

Mr. Putin said the decision did not mean Russia was planning to scale down its cooperation with Cuba.  But any drop in finnacial aid would be a devastating blow to the Cuban economy, which has already suffered greatly since the suicice hijacking attacks on the US on September 11.

The Russians say the base, which covers about 45 square kilometers, is being closed for financial reasons.  It costs about $200m a year in rent to  Cuba, money that could be spent on launching 20 military satellites into space.  About 1,500 Russian engineers, technicians, soldiers and their families are currently stationed there.

Cuba´s main industry, tourism, has been hit hard since September 11, with thousands cancelling their flights.  The othere main source of hard currency, money sent by Cubans living in the US, has dropped by as much as half.  As well as the financial loss, the closure will be a blow to the Cuban government´s prestige, reducing still further its importance in world politics and severing one of its last links with the former Soviet Union.

Lourdes lies within the “footprint” of everey US communications satellite as well as many international satellites.  Experts say it is also close enough to the US mainland, about 150 km away, to pick up wireless communications such as military radios throughout the south-east.

Last year, the US House of Representatives passed a bill to try to prevent the US from rescheduling hundreds of millions of dollars in debt owed by Russia unless it  shut down the base in Cuba.  Moscow always said the intellitgence centre was needed to monitor US compliance with nuclear treaties and US missile launches.  In Moscow yesterday, Mr. Putin confirmed that another military base in Cam Ranh in Vietnam, on which Russia had a lease until 2004, would also close.

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