Moscow, November 13 (teleSUR-RHC), -- Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced Wednesday that his country will send long-range bombers to patrol the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean and the Arctic as a response to rising tensions with Western countries over the Ukrainian conflict.
"In the current situation, we need to secure our military presence in the western part of the Atlantic, eastern part of the Pacific oceans and the waters of the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico," said Shoigu, according to Reuters news agency report.
Russia Today says, Shoigu also released that Russia will continue updating its foreign military bases.
The announcement was made just a few days after the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) singled out some Russian incursions into European airspace. The western military alliance NATO also claimed that Russian troops were deployed on Wednesday in eastern Ukraine, but this information was dismissed by Moscow saying it was false and that there was no evidence to support the accusation.
Pentagon spokesman Col. Steve Warren downplayed the Russian announcement saying it was not a provocation, and stated that every nation had the right to operate in international waters and international airspace.
"The Russians have patrolled the Gulf (of Mexico) in the past, and we’ve seen the Russian Navy operate in the Gulf of Mexico. These are international waters," Warren said.
"It’s important that the Russians conduct their operations safely and in accordance with international standards," he added.
