Russia could build a military repair centre in Cuba to help the Communist island modernize Soviet-era military hardware, an official said Thursday, amid a revival in ties between the Cold War allies.
"Cuba still uses Soviet and Russian-produced equipment. Of course, we should and are 'fated', in the good sense of the word, to continue our cooperation," said Alexander Fomin, deputy head of the Federal Service for Arms Cooperation.
Speaking at a defence fair in Brazil, Fomin said Russia could build a military service factory in Cuba for this purpose.
"Cuba is a long-time partner… The most likely path for our cooperation is to provide maintenance, modernization for the existing hardware and build a service centre," Fomin was quoted by Interfax as saying from Rio de Janeiro.
Moscow was Havana's main sponsor in the Soviet era, but relations between the two countries cooled after the collapse of communism in the former Soviet Union in 1991.
But both countries have made a push to revive ties in recent months with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev visiting Havana last year and Cuban President Raul Castro traveling to Moscow in January.
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