Venezuela to hold joint naval exercises with Russia
By Melissa Bryant
Reporter~SKNVibes.com
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Admiral Chabanenko
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CARACAS, Venezuela - VENEZUELA has announced that it is to hold joint naval exercises with Russia in what would be the first deployment of Russian warships in the Caribbean since the Cold War.
According to Caribbean Net News, a group of Russian warships is due to arrive in Venezuela today (Nov. 25).
The Russian Navy said the nuclear-powered cruiser Peter the Great, the destroyer Admiral Chabanenko and logistical vessels would begin the manoeuvres in a week's time.
Russian President Andrei Medvedev is due to visit Venezuela and Cuba in the near future, stating that the time is right to revive “privileged relations” with Latin American countries that Moscow was close to in Soviet times.
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said Russia is “free to exercise peacefully with anyone that they want to exercise with, but also people note though these exercises the company you keep”.
Yesterday (Nov. 24) the United States State Department said it would closely watch the upcoming Russian-Venezuelan naval manoeuvres but dismissed any notion they were a challenge to the US influence in the region.
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Peter the Great
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“I don’t think there’s any question about who the region looks to in terms of political, economic, diplomatic as well as military power.
“I don’t know if the intention [behind the planned naval exercises and the Medvedev visit] was provocative. Certainly we don’t view it that way. A few Russian ships in the Caribbean with the Venezuelans are really going to raise anybody’s eyebrows,” said State Department spokesperson Sean McCormack.
Analysts see the moves as Medvedev taking a defiant message to Washington’s doorstep
Venezuela News