Despite its renewed outreach to Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela in recent weeks, Russia remains unlikely to significantly increase its economic and military cooperation with these countries due to Moscow’s secondary interest in Latin America. On Feb. 9, Nicaragua’s government announced the beginning of negotiations to implement energy, medical and nuclear projects with Russia’s state-owned nuclear corporation Rosatom. The announcement comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin held three separate phone calls with Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro between Jan. 23-26 to discuss boosting strategic cooperation in areas including the economy, education and defense. Amid the growing standoff between Russia and the West over Ukraine, a top Russian diplomat also recently suggested that Moscow could send a military deployment to Cuba and Venezuela if the United States continues to expand its military presence in Eastern Europe. ...
