I heard on the news this morning--noted here as well--that Russia is offering to bail out Cyprus' banks in exchange for advantages, including a naval base.
Russia offered that deal a few months ago, when I was wondering whether Russia would seek alternatives to Syria for a naval base in the Mediterranean Sea.
UPDATE: Huh. Russia doesn't want to buy an island, after all:
"The talks have ended as far as the Russian side is concerned," Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov told reporters after two days of crisis talks with his Cypriot counterpart, Michael Sarris.
Are they that confident that their Syria base is secure? Or do they have another port in mind? Or do they simply think they have time to get a better bargain for Cyprus?
Russia is planning to reform a Mediterranean naval squadron. Does Russia believe that they don't need a secure place to refuel, rearm, and repair? Could they simply stage logistics vessels in international waters to replicate these base functions?
