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Russian Defense Ministry may return to foreign bases of USSR times

The ministry considers the option to return military bases to the countries, where they were in the Soviet Union times, including Vietnam or Cuba

MOSCOW, October 7. /TASS/. Russia's Defense Ministry considers the option to return military bases to the countries, where they were in the Soviet Union times, Deputy Defense Minister Nikolai Pankov told the State Duma legislators.

"We are working on this, we do see this problem," he said in response to a question whether the military authority planned to return to the bases in the countries like Vietnam or Cuba.

Earlier, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Russian plans developing military bases abroad, including Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Armenia.

President Vladimir Putin in summer, 2014 said Moscow did not have plans to restore its base in Cuba’s Lourdes.

Bases in Latin America, Southeast Asia, Africa

The deputy chairman of the State Duma’s international affairs committee, Aleksey Chepa, has called for restoring Russian military bases in Latin America, Southeast Asia and Africa.

He came out with this initiative at a session of the lower house while discussing the issue of ratifying the Russian-Syrian agreement on the open-ended deployment of Russia’s air group in Syria.

"It is necessary to consider the issue of our presence in other regions of the world," Chepa said. "I believe that it would meet Russia’s national interests to restore our military bases in Latin America, Southeast Asia and Africa."

On Friday, October 7, the Russian State Duma considers ratification of an agreement on termless deployment of the Russian air grouping in Syria. The document was signed on August 26, 2015 in Damascus, and on August 9, 2016, President Vladimir Putin presented it to the parliament’s lower house for further consideration.