MOSCOW. July 23 (Interfax-AVN) - The reaction of Gen. Norton Schwartz, the United State Air Force Chief of Staff, to Russian strategic bombers' possible arrival in Cuba is "inadequate," a Russian expert said.
"Russian strategic bombers are entitled to use airfields in any country, including Cuba, as long as its leaders do not object, so the statement by Gen. Schwartz cannot be called other than inadequate and childish," former Russian Air Force Commander-in-chief Anatoly Kornukov told Interfax-AVN on Wednesday.
"Gen. Schwartz being a professional must know that missile carriers have the right to fly over neutral waters in any part of the world, which, by the way, is what U.S. bombers are doing as well," he said.
However, Kornukov said he doubted that there was a military need for Russian strategic bombers to have a permanent base in Cuba. "From the point of view of the facilities in the U.S. territory, there is no need to deploy airplanes "under the guns" of the Americans, where they would be within the range of conventional missiles. Tupolev Tu-160s are armed with weapons that can be used within thousands of kilometers from the set targets," the expert said.
Last Tuesday, Schwartz said that Russia would cross the line by deciding to deploy its strategic bombers in Cuba.
Earlier, an informed military-diplomatic source in Moscow told Interfax-AVN that Russian strategic bombers could use an airfield in Cuba for refueling during flights for air patrol over the Atlantic.