MOSCOW. Nov 22 (Interfax-AVN) - Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov has stated that the closure of the Russian radar station in Lourdes (Cuba) and of the Cam Ranh naval base in Vietnam will not tell on Russia's security interests.
"I am authorized to state that our withdrawal from Cam Ranh and Lourdes has not affected either Russian military security interests, or the military security interests of the two traditional friendly states Vietnam and Cuba," Ivanov said in an interview with the newspaper Trud published on Thursday.
"Our withdrawal from Cam Ranh is motivated not only by economic considerations. The international situation is changing and so is our attitude to the location of Russian forces outside our national territory. The character and scope of the tasks facing the armed forces has changed considerably over the past few years. Our permanent presence in the Indian Ocean does not reflect state security interests any longer," Ivanov said.