Answer: You know that these steps were announced at today's meeting in the Defense Ministry, which among other things considered urgent steps to counter the international terrorist threat. It is understandable that this struggle will be protracted and take lots of money. So rigid economies are in order, considering that the nature of threats to our national security after the end of the Cold War has greatly changed.

I draw your attention to the words of the Russian President that the questions of Cam Ranh and Lourdes had for a long time been discussed with our Vietnamese and Cuban friends and the decisions taken came as no surprise to anyone. Naturally, these steps must not affect the level of our bilateral relations with Vietnam and Cuba, which on the basis of the top-level accords are developing in an onward and dynamic way, on a mutually beneficial basis. Of course, this applies also to such an important area as our military-technological cooperation.


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