MOSCOW: A Russian lawmaker said on Thursday that the Russian deployment of missiles on Cuba was one option being looked at in response to what he cast as a US escalation over Ukraine and an accelerating arms race among major nuclear powers.

President Vladimir Putin said last week that Russia should resume production of intermediate and shorter range nuclear-capable missiles and then consider where to deploy them after the United States brought similar missiles to Europe and Asia.

Sergei Mironov, the leader of the “Just Russia - Patriots - For Truth” party in the lower house of the Russian parliament, said that Washington had embarked on an arms race that could lead to “devastating consequences” for the United States.

“The possible use of a base in Cuba, which was recently visited by Russian ships carrying hypersonic weapons abroad, is just one of many options,” Mironov said.

Published in Dawn, July 5th, 2024