Russian warships arrive in Venezuela
(NSI News Source Info) MOSCOW/CARACAS - November 25, 2008: A group of warships from Russia's Northern Fleet arrived on Tuesday at the Venezuelan port of La Guaira, a Russian naval official said.
The task force, led by the Pyotr Veliky missile cruiser, is on a planned visit that follows a two-month tour of the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, which saw Russian ships visiting Libya, Turkey and France.
"The [Udaloy class destroyer] Admiral Chabanenko has docked in port, while the Pyotr Veliky missile cruiser has dropped anchor off La Guaira," said Capt. 1st Rank Igor Dygalo, an aide to the Navy commander.
Russian and Venezuelan warships will conduct live-ammunition artillery drills on December 1 as part of joint naval exercises in the Caribbean. The exercises will involve joint sea rescue operations, maneuvering, and firing drills.
Venezuela's Navy will be represented by two or three combat vessels.
The exercises will be conducted in line with bilateral agreements and in accordance with international maritime law. They will be held in an area beyond Venezuela's territorial waters, about 150 nautical miles from the South American country's coast.
All shipping in the area will be halted for the duration of the exercises, subject to special notice due at the end of November.
After its visit to Venezuela, the Russian task force is due to take part in an exercise with ships from Russia's Pacific Fleet in the Indian Ocean.
Additional Info
US to watch Russian-Venezuelan maneuvers 'very closely'
(NSI News Source Info) Washington - November 25, 2008: The US State Depar
tment said Monday it will watch "very closely" upcoming Russian-Venezuelan naval maneuvers but dismissed any notion they were a challenge to US influence in the region.
In Moscow, the Russian navy said a group of Russian warships is due to arrive in Venezuela on Tuesday, ahead of joint exercises with the Venezuelan navy and a visit by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
"I don't think there's any question about who ... the region looks to in terms of political, economic, diplomatic and as well as military power," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters when asked for comment.
"If the Venezuelans and the Russians want to have, you know, a military exercise, that's fine, but we'll obviously be watching it very closely," he added.
"Contrast that with the recent meeting in Lima that just took place among APEC members, which they're talking about effective action to deal with global economic crisis," McCormack said. "I think that's where people's attention is really focused," he said.
He was referring to the weekend summit in Peru of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, which focused on the global financial and economic crisis.
The summit was attended by Medvedev who is due to visit Venezuela and another US foe, Cuba, saying the time is right to revive "privileged relations" with Latin American countries that Moscow was close to in Soviet times.
Asked if the planned naval exercises -- combined with the Medvedev visit -- is provocative, McCormack replied: "I don't know if the intention was provocative. Certainly, we don't ... view it that way."
"We'll watch it closely. But I don't think a few Russian ships in ... the Caribbean with the Venezuelans is really going to raise anybody's eyebrows," McCormack said.
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said Russia was "free to exercise peacefully with anyone that they want to exercise with, but also people note through these exercises the company that nations keep.
Analysts see Medvedev as taking a defiant message to Washington's doorstep, as he meets Cuba's communist leadership and oversees Russian naval exercises off Venezuela's coast.
Cuba's communist regime received massive support from Moscow in Soviet times, becoming the focus of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, a legendary nuclear stand-off between Moscow and Washington.
tment said Monday it will watch "very closely" upcoming Russian-Venezuelan naval maneuvers but dismissed any notion they were a challenge to US influence in the region.
In Moscow, the Russian navy said a group of Russian warships is due to arrive in Venezuela on Tuesday, ahead of joint exercises with the Venezuelan navy and a visit by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
"I don't think there's any question about who ... the region looks to in terms of political, economic, diplomatic and as well as military power," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters when asked for comment.
"If the Venezuelans and the Russians want to have, you know, a military exercise, that's fine, but we'll obviously be watching it very closely," he added.
"Contrast that with the recent meeting in Lima that just took place among APEC members, which they're talking about effective action to deal with global economic crisis," McCormack said. "I think that's where people's attention is really focused," he said.
He was referring to the weekend summit in Peru of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, which focused on the global financial and economic crisis.
The summit was attended by Medvedev who is due to visit Venezuela and another US foe, Cuba, saying the time is right to revive "privileged relations" with Latin American countries that Moscow was close to in Soviet times.
Asked if the planned naval exercises -- combined with the Medvedev visit -- is provocative, McCormack replied: "I don't know if the intention was provocative. Certainly, we don't ... view it that way."
"We'll watch it closely. But I don't think a few Russian ships in ... the Caribbean with the Venezuelans is really going to raise anybody's eyebrows," McCormack said.
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said Russia was "free to exercise peacefully with anyone that they want to exercise with, but also people note through these exercises the company that nations keep.
Analysts see Medvedev as taking a defiant message to Washington's doorstep, as he meets Cuba's communist leadership and oversees Russian naval exercises off Venezuela's coast.
Cuba's communist regime received massive support from Moscow in Soviet times, becoming the focus of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, a legendary nuclear stand-off between Moscow and Washington.
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