Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez' two-day visit to Russia was dominated by energy and military agreements, despite delighting the Kremlin by recognizing the independence of Georgia's breakaway regions Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Weaponry and oil would top the trade agenda between the two "intimate friends," and their relations would develop according to their own needs, analysts predicted.
A goodwill gesture
Venezuela's recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia's independence came as a shock because Nicaragua was until recently the only other country to have followed Russia's suit in recognizing them.
"Venezuela from today is joining in the recognition of the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia," Chavez announced during talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in his residence outside Moscow.
Caracas would soon begin the process of establishing diplomatic relations with them, Chavez added.
Medvedev thanked Chavez for recognizing the Georgian rebel regions, which broke away from Tbilisi's rule during a war in the 1990s. "Thank you, Hugo, you have made a whole set of serious and important decisions," he said.
Chavez later met Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who said Venezuela's recognition of the two Russia-backed republics confirmed the independent nature of its foreign policies.
"We regard it as ... support for Russia's efforts aimed at making international relations more democratic," Putin explained.
Russia and Georgia fought a five-day war in August last year, when Georgia attacked South Ossetia in an attempt to retake the renegade region that borders Russia. In response, Moscow sent in troops to drive Georgian forces out of the region.
Russia recognized South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states two weeks after the conflict ended.
Abkhazian leader Sergei Bagapsh said the Venezuelan move would help solidify his nation's long-term success. He also expressed the hope that other Latin American states would follow Venezuela's lead.
However, the Georgian Foreign Ministry condemned Chavez' decision as "extremely unfriendly," and warned the recognition would prove "counterproductive" for Venezuela.
Chavez made the announcement "in exchange for a loan of a few hundreds of millions and the large quantity of arms that Russia promised him today," the ministry said in a statement.
Although Russia's ex-Soviet allies, including Belarus, have so far refrained from recognizing Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Russian media reports said more Latin American countries might recognize the two regions.
"Gradually, South Ossetia and Abkhazia's sovereignty will be recognized by the countries that do not keep pace with Washington's foreign policies," Konstantin Zatulin, a senior member of the post-Soviet CIS committee, was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti news agency.
Military and energy deals
Russia and Venezuela have maintained frequent high-level exchanges in recent years. This was Chavez' eighth visit to Russia. Medvedev paid a visit to Venezuela last November, the first ever to the country by a Russian leader since diplomatic ties were established more than 150 years ago.
The development of relations between Russia and Latin American countries had become crucial. Venezuela was a key partner in this respect, Medvedev observed during his meeting with Chavez on Thursday.
At a joint press conference after their talks, Medvedev said military cooperation was an integral part of the bilateral ties. He pledged to continue arms supplies to Venezuela and, in the meantime, shoulder due international obligations.
"Russia will supply Venezuela with arms upon Venezuela's request. We will supply tanks as well," he promised.
RIA Novosti earlier quoted a Russian defense official as saying that a 500-million-dollar contract for 100 T-72 and T-90 tanks would be signed during Chavez' visit to counteract increased U.S. presence in neighboring Colombia.
U.S. statistics show that Russian arms exports tumbled two thirds in 2008, to 3.5 billion U.S. dollars from 10.8 billion a year earlier. As traditional buyers such as India are shifting their attention to Western countries, Russia has been replaced by Italy as the second largest weapons supplier in the world.
The details of a military agreement inked Thursday by the defense ministries were not released, but it is believed that orders from Venezuela, which signed 12 arms contracts with Russia worth more than 4.4 billion U.S. dollars between 2005 and 2007, will give a boost to Russia's arms business amid the ongoing economic crisis.
Under an energy deal, Venezuela's state oil company, PDVSA, and a consortium of major Russian producers are to establish a joint venture to develop the Junin-6 field in Venezuela's Orinoco crude belt, which has estimated reserves of 235 billion barrels of heavy oil.
Trade volume between the two oil-and-gas rich countries reached 957.8 million U.S. dollars in 2008, with the Russian exports to Venezuela standing at 957.4 million dollars.
Venezuela's trade gap was to widen further following a rise in Russia's arms deliveries to the South American country. Russia would have to grant more credit to Venezuela, and Caracas would reciprocate by allowing Moscow to pump its oil, analysts said.
(Xinhua News Agency September 11, 2009)
