US Unwilling to Return Guantanamo to Cuba Fearing Handover to Russia

The United States is unwilling to return Guantanamo Bay base to Cuba, fearing that Havana would turn the site over to its ally Russia, the director of the Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies told Sputnik on Thursday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik), Anastasia Levchenko — On Monday, Washington and Havana officially reestablished full diplomatic relations and reopened embassies after over half a century of animosity. However, the US Secretary of State John Kerry said the United States had no intention of currently altering its existing lease arrangement regarding its naval base in Guantanamo Bay.

"The issue of Guantanamo will remain a difficult one. Cuba insists on the return of the base, the U.S. and the American military are unwilling to accommodate the Cubans. There is a concern that Cuba may turn over the base to its ally Russia, and then Russian submarines will have an excellent facility in the Caribbean," Jaime Suchlicki said.

Therefore, relations between the United States and Cuba "will move slowly with many more difficulties," Suchlicki added.

The United States has been leasing Cuba’s Guantanamo Bay territory since 1903.

Beginning in 1959, when US-Cuban relations deteriorated, Havana repeatedly protested the US presence on its territory, and stopped accepting payment.

In Late January 2015, Cuban President Raul Castro called on the United States to return the Guantanamo Bay area to Cuba.