Andy Webb-Vidal in Caracas and Neil Buckley in Moscow wrote interesting Financial Times article about Hugo Chavez Chavez seeks to link Putin with anti-US alliance (subscription required). The entire article is certainly worth reading.
Aides to Venezuela’s mercurial leader Hugo Chavez will have made sure his presidential fountain pen was fully loaded before he left Caracas, given the number of arms deals he is set to sign in Moscow this week.
Contracts for 30 Russian Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jets, 30 military helicopters, 100,000 Kalashnikov assault rifles, a licence to build a Kalashnikov factory in Venezuela, and perhaps two or three submarines are all on the agenda during Mr Chavez’s fourth visit to Russia.
Sergei Ivanov, Russia’s defence minister and a possible successor to President Vladimir Putin, said last week the fighter and helicopter deal alone was worth more than $1bn.
Hugo Chavez is certainly creating a mess for Venezuela. There is not much more to add.
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