Moscow mulls siting strategic warplanes in Caribbean, air force official says
BREAKING NEWS
MOSCOW - Russian strategic bombers may be based in Cuba in the future, a Russian Air Force chief told Interfax news agency on Saturday.
Chief of staff of Russia's long range aviation Maj. Gen. Anatoly Zhikharyev was quoted as saying Cuba has air bases with four or five suitable runways.
The agency reported that he said Cuba could be used to base Russian bombers if the two countries "display a political will, we are ready to fly there."
Cuba has never permanently hosted Russian or Soviet strategic aircraft. But Soviet short range bombers often made stopovers there during the Cold War.
Russia resumed long-range bomber patrols in 2007 after a 15-year hiatus.
AP, updated 5:52 a.m. ET March 14, 2009