Is Russia playing in U.S.’s backyard?

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/03/2022 (1025 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

DON’T look only to the east. You might forget about what’s actually happening in the west. Of course, that’s precisely what Russian President Vladimir Putin wants us to do.

But important things are happening in the western hemisphere — namely, in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Russians are clearly looking to make inroads, political, economically and geo-strategically, in the Americas.

By early February, Argentine President Alberto Fernández arrived in Moscow to visit Putin. While the leftist Fernández thanked Putin for the shipments of Russia’s Sputnik COVID-19 vaccines to his country, both leaders acknowledged that they shared “similar approaches” and were willing to collaborate in several policy fields.

“We protect sovereignty and the supremacy of international law. We are going to co-ordinate our approaches on international platforms within the UN, and co-operate in the G20,” Putin remarked.

Two weeks later, embattled Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro showed up to shake Putin’s hand at the Kremlin. With trade, nuclear energy and military co-operation topping the agenda, both Bolsonaro and Putin spoke glowingly of their “friendship and mutual understanding.”

In a final statement, the two leaders added that they “share the opinion that conflicts should be resolved through peaceful and diplomatic means.”

Recently, Putin also made a slew of calls to political leaders in Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, to name a few. You can be sure that they weren’t discussing the Winter Olympics in China. Indeed, there has been wild speculation that Moscow is intent on deploying substantial military assets to these countries.

In a telephone call to Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, Putin raised the issue of a “strategic partnership” with the Caribbean island. He also apparently broached the topic of additional co-ordination with Havana on “actions in the international arena.”

There have been recent discussions between the two countries about strengthening military co-operation. Some are even still speculating about Russia at some point reopening its Cold War-era listening post just outside of Havana, which was shut down by Putin in 2001 for cost-saving reasons. But I wouldn’t bet the mortgage on that.

Why is Russia so eager to carve out some space for itself in the Americas? Does Moscow really have vital interests at stake in Latin America? Or, is it looking to provoke Washington officialdom and to recruit friends in what has historically been regarded as a U.S. “sphere of influence”?

It certainly looks like Moscow is less concerned about advancing its core offensive and defensive interests and more interested in poking the Americans in the eye. For the Russians, it’s more of a propaganda tool and a way to make the U.S. uncomfortable in its own “backyard.”

Additionally, it may be the case that the Russians are trolling for Latin American votes at the UN in New York — where Brazil is currently a non-permanent member of the Security Council. But strengthening relations in the Americas also provides the Kremlin with the possibility to reconfirm Russia’s global power status (externally and domestically), to take advantage of any export/investment opportunities in the region (where overall trade has increased from US$5.6 billion in 2000 to US$14.1 billion in 2019) and, in particular, to utilize Cuba’s geographical location.

Moreover, as tensions build between Russia and the U.S. over Ukraine, Moscow is more anxious to play the Latin America card. Not only do visits from the two largest South American countries, Brazil and Argentina, confer legitimacy on Putin, but they also poke holes in the hemispheric alignment Washington is so bent on constructing against Russia.

It’s true that all of these Latin American countries have their own particular reasons for improving relations with Russia. Among them is signalling their political independence from Washington and their willingness to find counterweights to U.S. dominance in the region.

The fact of the matter is that Russia is making advances in the Americas because the U.S. presence in the hemisphere has diminished significantly over the last 20 years or so. Stated differently, the Kremlin is filling a gap or space that was essentially ignored or vacated by Washington.

So if the U.S. wants to counter Russian encroachment in Latin America, it needs to come off the sidelines and get back in the regional game. It needs to start paying serious attention to the Americas, reaching out to many of the countries in the hemisphere (including Cuba) and building stronger relationships and expanding its footprint across a wide array of policy and issue-areas.

Failing to do so will only open the door wider for Russia (and even China) to solidify a stronger base in the region.

Peter McKenna is professor of political science at the University of Prince Edward Island in Charlottetown.