Moscow, August 16: Russia says Venezuela is determined to pursue its plans to acquire large volumes of Russian military vehicles and hardware.
“… if he pledged something, he would do this,” said the Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin on Saturday speaking of the Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’ plans for substantial military purchases from Russia, ITAR-TASS reported.
Sechin called it likely for Moscow to sell Caracas several tank battalions as Venezuela has requested.
“Chavez is one of the leading politicians in the world. He is a vivid personality and he is a big friend of Russia,” he added.
The agency also quoted the Venezuelan Vice President Ramon Carrizales as saying “We have full power to ensure security of our country, our borders and our population. Therefore, we have full power to make necessary purchases for this purpose.”
The comments were apparently in reference to Chavez’ recent warnings of a standoff with the United States which he accused of seeking a military foothold in neighboring Colombia.
—–Agencies