The Canadian patrol ship arrived in Havana on Friday morning, only hours after the United States had announced that a fast attack submarine was docked on its Guantanamo Naval Base on Cuba. Both vessels were on the heels Russian warships who had arrived earlier this week.

The convergence of Russian, Canadian and U.S. ships in Cuba – a Communist-ruled Island nation only 160 km (100miles) from Florida – served as a reminder of Cold War tensions of the past and current fraught relations between Russia and Western countries over the Ukraine War.

Both the U.S. as well as Cuba, however, have stated that the Russian warships do not pose a threat to the area. Russia has described the arrival of their warships to Cuba, an ally, as routine.

After conducting "high precision missile weapons" training, the Admiral Gorshkov and nuclear-powered sub Kazan, with their crews on deck and half submerged, arrived in Havana harbour on Wednesday.

The Canadian Joint Operations Command described the visit as "a port-visit...in recognition the long-standing bilateral relations between Canada and Cuba."

The U.S. Southern Command had announced earlier that the fast-attack sub Helena was on a routine visit to Guantanamo, an American naval base located on the southeast corner of the island, around 850 kilometers (530 miles), from Havana.

Southern Command announced on X that "the vessel's transit and location were planned in advance."

The arrival of the Margaret Brooke was described by a Canadian diplomat as "routine" and "part of our long-standing partnership between Canada and Russia", adding that it had "no relation to the presence of Russian ships".

The Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 was the culmination of tensions between Washington and Moscow over the spread of Communism. Moscow, which maintains ties with Havana has questioned why the West is so nervous about the warships.

Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said that when asked about what signals Moscow sent out through diplomatic channels, she replied on Thursday that the West did not seem to pay attention.

Zakharova stated that "as soon as we hear about exercises or sea voyages there are questions and a need to know the meaning of these messages." Why do only signals relating to our army or navy reach the West?

The Russian warships will remain in Havana until the 17th of June. (Reporting and editing by Frances Kerry. Additional reporting by Marc Frank)