Russia increases weapon sales to Chavez

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Move seen as slap at Bush over missile defense

UNITED NATIONS | Russia is showing its irritation with U.S. intervention in its back yard by selling more weapons to Venezuela's Hugo Chavez.

Mr. Chavez is to arrive in Moscow on Tuesday with a reported billion-dollar shopping list of armaments, including submarines and helicopters.

It is the controversial Latin American leader's third visit to Moscow since 2006, when he purchased $3 billion in Russian weapons systems.

The choreographed display of commerce and camaraderie provides a rare opportunity for two of Washington's most passionate antagonists to tweak the Bush administration, with the added benefit for Russia and Venezuela of raising their profiles in their own regions.

CAUDILLO: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is again heading to Moscow with an arms shopping list. (Associated Press)

Russia is furious with the Bush administration's plans to base missile defenses in former Soviet satellites Poland and the Czech Republic, while Venezuela is chafing at U.S. support for rivals Colombia and Brazil.

"The Russians also see this as a way to push the notion that there is a multipolar world," said Michael Shifter, adjunct professor of Latin American studies at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service. "And if Chavez is not all that strong, these [military purchases] boost him up a bit."

Mr. Chavez, who has portrayed himself as the leader of Latin America and a socialist alternative to U.S. hegemony, has been rattled lately by the Colombian military's daring rescue of hostages held by the FARC rebel group, as well as by Brazil and Argentina's economic surge, Mr. Shifter added.

Besides missile defense, the Russian leadership has tangled with the United States in the U.N. Security Council over political conflicts ranging from Georgia to Zimbabwe.

In a recent essay, Ariel Cohen and Ray Walser, both senior foreign-policy researchers at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, warned that Venezuela could be the new Cuba in a 21st-century Cold War, one that is emboldened by rising oil revenues.

"Russia and Venezuela, together with Iran, are among the trend-setters in the democracy rollback taking place since the late 1990s, especially in petro-states," they wrote. "The rise of oil prices has accelerated this process and helped precipitate the rise of statism and the decline in democratic governance, while energy revenues provide the means to buy off political opponents and the media, build up internal security forces, and insulate regimes from any domestic and international criticism."

The Venezuelan leader told reporters in Caracas that his goal inMoscow is "to consolidate a strategic alliance with Russia in the political, economic, technological and military fronts," according to the Venezuelan publication El Universal.

Mr. Chavez, who has been spending Venezuela's oil windfall on a variety of conventional weapons, has bought more than $4.4 billion in Russian arms in the past five years and plans to add to this arsenal by purchasing $2 billion more.

The Russian Interfax news service Monday quoted an unnamed Russian Defense Ministry official as saying that Mr. Chavez might order three Varshavyanka submarines and up to 20 Tor-M1 air-defense systems. The Russian newspaper Kommersant reported May 12 that Mr. Chavez wants Project 636 Diesel submarines, Mi-28 combat helicopters and Ilyushin airplanes.

The Venezuelan purchases are feeding a regional arms race.Chile, Colombia and Brazil also have been modernizing their militaries.

"It could get out of control," Mr. Shifter warned. "I don't think the U.S. has anything to fear from Venezuela militarily, but you can see a scenario where, if things get tense, there is with Chavez an element of unpredictability. If he feels threatened, under attack, there is a potential for destabilization" in the region.

Venezuela's weapons purchases have been difficult to track. Russian Deputy Permanent Representative to the U.N. Konstantin K. Dolgov on Monday maintained that all sales are within international covenants and guidelines.

The United Nations maintains two sprawling voluntary databases on international arms purchases, one to track total military expenditures and the other to break down purchases and sellers.

Venezuela has not contributed to either since at least 2002, according to Ewen Buchanan of the U.N. Department of Disarmament.
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"The conversion of the entire population to Islam and the extinction of every form of dissent is the ideal of the Muslim State - This is Islamic Peace"

A moderate Moslem is one who sends others blow themselves up.

Chavez Claims Alliance With Russia Will Protect Venezuela

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Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez is on a shopping spree for military hardware from Moscow, and already has a few energy deals in hand.

On Tuesday, Chavez called for a strategic alliance with Russia to protect his country from the United States, having repeatedly accused Washington of plotting an invasion to destabilize his government.

The Venezuala-Russia alliance would mean "we can guarantee Venezuela's sovereignty, which is now threatened by the United States," Chavez told reporters shortly after his arrival in Moscow.

Chavez is in Russia to broker a number of deals involving weapons purchases, oil exploration and possibly the creation of a joint financial institution.

Venezuela's state-run oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA signed separate deals with three Russian energy companies — Gazprom, Lukoil and TNK-BP — during the first day of Chavez's visit.

In addition, Russian media have reported that Chavez is expected to reach a number of agreements for purchasing Russian military hardware while in Moscow, with one paper reporting the deals could be worth up to $2 billion.

The newspaper Kommersant, generally regarded as reliable, reported Tuesday that Chavez is looking to order Ilyushin jets, diesel-powered submarines, Tor-M1 air defense systems and possibly tanks. It did not specify its sources.

"We want peace, but we are forced to strengthen our defense," Chavez said when asked about the potential deals upon his arrival.

Rosoboronexport, Russia's state-owned arms trader, declined to comment on potential deals.

The United States denies a plan to undermine Venezuela, and a State Department official downplayed the suggestion of a deeper Venezuela-Russia partnership.

"We've repeatedly communicated concerns with Russia about Chavez's arms build-up in the past, and we're going to continue to do so," State Department spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos said during a press conference, adding the U.S. also questions "whether such acquisitions are in line with Venezuela's defense needs."

Asked of worries about Russia making alliances with Venezuela, as well as reports of new dealings with Cuba, Gallegos said, "They are a sovereign nation, and they will make alliances as they see fit."

Rep. Connie Mack, R-Fla., a regular critic of the Chavez administration, issued a statement to FOXNews.com saying the deal should cause "great alarm."

“With Hugo Chavez’s past track record of purchasing weapons from Russia that far exceeded Venezuela’s legitimate defensive needs, coupled with his aggressive support of the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia) terrorist organization, along with the alliances that both Russia and Chavez have with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, this weapons deal that is currently being negotiated ought to cause great alarm throughout the Western Hemisphere," Mack said.

Mack said that Chavez is proving to be like Cuba's Fidel Castro was during the Cold War, but unlike Castro, is a "partner who has vast resources and a zealous determination to destabilize the Western Hemisphere."

Welcoming Chavez at Meiendorf Castle, his residence outside Moscow was President Dmitry Medvedev, who said Russian-Venezuelan relations "are one of the key factors of security in the (South American) region."

It is the presidents' first meeting since Medvedev took office in May.

Venezuela, which spent $4 billion on international arms purchases between 2005 and 2007, mostly from Russia and China, has a defense budget of $2.6 billion, according to the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies.

The U.S. stopped supplying arms to Venezuela in 2006.

The three energy agreements involve exploring new oil fields in Venezuela. Chavez said they signified the "creation of a new strategic energy alliance" between Russia and Venezuela.

The deal with TNK-BP was particularly striking given the company's ongoing dispute between its Russian and British shareholders.

"For TNK-BP it is a positive sign that the shareholders' conflict has had no effect on the business," said Valery Nesterov, an analyst at Troika Dialog, an investment bank.

On Tuesday BP announced it would recall 60 technical specialists from Russia.

Chavez also wants to discuss the possibility of creating a joint bank, according to Alexis Navarro, Venezuela's ambassador to Moscow.

The Venezuelan president also met Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and was to meet Russian military and business leaders.

Commercial trade between Venezuela and Russia reached $1.1 billion last year, almost double the $517 million in trade during 2006, according to statistics cited by Venezuela's state-run news agency.
_________________
"The conversion of the entire population to Islam and the extinction of every form of dissent is the ideal of the Muslim State - This is Islamic Peace"

A moderate Moslem is one who sends others blow themselves up.