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Venezuela mulls buying
warplanes from Russia
Venezuela is considering buying
Russian fighter planes to
replace the ageing F-16s it
bought from the United States,
President Hugo Chavez said on
Tuesday.
Speaking at a military event in
Caracas, Chavez said that he had
sent a delegation to Moscow, the
Russian capital, to discuss the
issue.
Washington "is refusing to do
major refurbishment and delaying
spare parts" for the F-16s,
which were bought under the
1979-1984 Christian Democrat
government of Luis Herrera
Campins, Chavez said.
Venezuela bought 24 Fighting
Falcon F-16 aircraft, two of
which have been lost in
accidents.
"If we have to substitute the
fleet of F-16s with a modern
fleet of MiGs, we will do it,
nothing is going to stop us, "
said Chavez.
Chavez also accused the United
States of blocking Venezuela's
acquisition of Super Tucano
military planes from Brazil
because the planes are built
with U.S. technologies.
The United States was trying to
keep Venezuela dependent by
doing so, he said.
"We will wait for some time to
see if Brazil can resolve this
problem," Chavez said.
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