Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied reports that an eavesdropping center in Cuba that the Soviets used to spy on the U.S. during the Cold War will be reopened.

The Miami Herald said that in statement posted on the Kremlin web page, Putin had made it clear that Russia and Cuba had agreed to close the Lourdes spy base near Havana and had no intention of reopening it.

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The statement came after the Kommersant newspaper reported that Washington had reached an agreement with Havana to reopen the Lourdes signals intelligence facility.

The base, 250 kilometers from the U.S. coast, opened in 1964 after the Cuban missile crisis. Russia closed it in 2001 in what it described as a "goodwill gesture" to Washington. However, according to The Guardian, many U.S. officials believed at the time that the closure was prompted by Moscow's concerns over cost.

The Kommersant report came five days after a visit to Havana by Putin, and as relations between Russia and the U.S. sank to their lowest point since the Cold War because of differences over Ukraine.

Russia has been under U.S. and European sanctions since the crisis in Ukraine took a turn for the worse in February. Putin's visit to Cuba is part of Moscow's effort to strengthen ties with other countries to prevent Russia from being isolated.

There has been no word from Cuba on the spy base report. According to the Guardian, reopening the base would run counter to Cuban President Raul Castro's effort to build better relations with Washington.

There has been widespread speculation that U.S. President Barack Obama will support establishing stronger ties with Cuba after the elections in November. But some U.S. analysts and lawmakers warned reopening the Lourdes spy base could cause Obama to change his mind about Cuba.

Republican Representative Mario Diaz-Balart of Miami warned that, "by inviting one of America's adversaries to a spy facility only 90 miles from our shores, the Castro regime is actively working to harm key U.S. national security interests."

TagsRussia spy base reopening, President Vladimir Putin, President Raul Castro, President Barack Obama