Russia-Venezuela nuclear accord
Written by Egypt News Thursday, 27 November 2008
Russia and
Venezuela have signed an agreement to promote the development of
nuclear energy for civilian use

The agreement was signed during a visit by
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to
Venezuela's capital,
Caracas, on the latest leg of his
Latin American tour.
Under the accord,
Russia would help
Venezuela build a nuclear energy plant. Joint gas projects were also approved.
Military co-operation is also high on the agenda of Mr Medvedev's talks with
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
Russian and
Venezuelan warships are scheduled to hold joint military exercises later this week.
The
Russian vessels, including the flagship missile cruiser
Peter the
Great and two support vessels, appeared off
La Guaira,
near Caracas, early on Tuesday.
The destroyer
Admiral Chabanenko docked while
Venezuelan forces fired a 21-gun salute.
This is first
Russian deployment of its kind in the
Caribbean since the end of the
Cold War.
Russia is already a major arms supplier to
Venezuela, with contracts worth some $4.4bn (£2.39bn).
Mr Medvedev's visit is part of a
Latin American tour aimed at boosting both Russia's presence and trade ties in a region traditionally of strategic importance to the
US.
BBC diplomatic correspondent
Jonathan Marcus says the Russian president's aim is to show
Washington, where President-elect
Barack Obama is preparing for office, that if the
US does things in
Europe near Russia's borders which
Moscow does not like, then
Russia can pursue its own policies in a region long seen by
Washington as its backyard.
Boosting bilateral trade between
Russia and
Latin America, which could reach $15bn (£9.9bn) this year, is another priority for the
Russian president during his talks.
The
Russian leader travelled to
Venezuela from
Brazil, where he and
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva held talks on boosting
trade and technical co-operation.
In
Rio de Janeiro, the two presidents expressed their view that the
"Bric" countries -
Brazil,
Russia,
India and
China - should hold their first summit in
Russia in 2009.
Mr Medvedev's visit takes place just a few days after the
Chinese president, Hu Jintao, toured several
Latin American nations with a view to strengthening ties.
EGYPT NEWS