Chavez
Strikes Arms Deals With Russia
Caracas - Venezuelan
President Hugo Chavez said here Friday that
he had signed a series of arms deals with
Russia during his visit to Moscow.
"We signed some military agreements with
Russia. Well, soon some little rockets are
going to be arriving," he announced upon his
return to Venezuela.
Venezuela is buying a batch of short-range
missiles with a range of 300 km, 24 Sukhoi
Su-30 fighter jets, dozens of helicopters
and 100,000 AK assault rifles from Moscow.
Chavez is also negotiating with Moscow over
the purchase of 100T-72 and T-90 tanks.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev promised
on Thursday to sell Chavez whatever weapons
he wants. Venezuela has spent over four
billion U.S. dollars to buy Russian weapons
since 2005, after the United States blocked
Venezuela from buying American weapons.
Chavez finished his ten-day world tour of
Africa, Asia and Europe, including Russia,
and returned home on Friday.
He stressed that the weapons purchased were
for defense use only, not to attack other
countries.
Venezuela is currently involved in a dispute
with its neighbor Colombia over a security
agreement that would allow U.S. troops to
have more access to Colombian military
bases. Chavez said the agreement would
increase the risk of war in South America
and endanger Venezuela's security.
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