Washington - The deployment of Russian bombers to Cuba would cross a "red line" and the United States should urge its former Cold War foe against taking the step, a top US Air Force general said Tuesday. "We should engage the Russians not to pursue that approach. And if they did, I think, we should stand strong and indicate that that issomething that crosses a threshold, crosses a red line for the UnitedStates," General Norton Scwhartz, nominated by Bush to become the top Air Force officer, told a Senate committee.
Russian media reported Monday the military is weighing whether to reinstate a Cold War practice of resuming bomber flights to Cuba or deploying them there in response to US plans to base missile defence in Eastern Europe.
"At the moment, there are just thoughts - but that doesn't mean there isn't something concrete behind it," an unnamed Russian officer told Izvestiya newspaper.
The White House refused to directly comment on the report because the Russian government has not publicly stated its intentions. But spokesman Dana Perino reiterated the view that the stationing of missile defences in Poland and the Czech Republic does not threaten Russia.
The United States is working on agreements with the two countries to counter Iran's growing ballistic capability.
