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Venezuela adds Russia to its Arsenal
Kommersant/apxnbhoe
Upon his arrival at the airport in Volgograd, Hugo Chavez
drank a shot of vodka from a glass balanced on a saber.By Mikhail Zygar; Tatyana Dmitrieva
Kommersant
VOLGROGRAD, RUSSIA
Petroleumworld.com 07 26 06The Venezuelan president creates the anti-U.S. oil front Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez started his trip to Russia in the southern city of Volgograd. Venezuela’s leader is meeting Vladimir Putin tomorrow. The Russian president seems unfazed by the fact that receiving Hugo Chavez he is ranking himself among Alexander Lukashenko and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Moscow is anticipating lucrative arms export contracts to be signed during the visit, while Caracas is eager to create an anti-U.S. oil bloc.
Disarming HospitalityA delegation of dignitaries including Volgograd Governor Nikolay Maksyuta and the Blue Flow, a Cossack band, met the Venezuelan president at the airport of Volgograd. After the president stepped onto the ladder, Maksyuta rushed to hug and kiss him. Hugo Chavez greeted Nikolay Maksyuta like an old friend and the Blue Flow stroke up a Cossack song. They gave Hugo Chavez a glass of vodka on a saber, and the leader drank it in one gulp.
Later, the delegated went to the city hall where Chavez had talks with Nikolay Maksyuta, head of TMK pipe producer Nikolay Pumpyansky, LUKOIL president Vagit Alekperov and local businessmen. Hugo Chavez preferred not to give a press conference but made a speech on the porch of the city hall. He started his impromptu with “Long Live Lenin!”, waived to gapers standing by the monument to Lenin and greeted “Volgograd, Putin and the Russian Government.”
The Venezuelan leader said that he was going to discuss in Moscow the construction of a pipe plant in Venezuela for a stunning 8,000 km-long pipeline that would run throughout the whole Latin America and would cost some $20 billion. Hugo Chavez reported that he was planning “another project with the share of RUSAL” but gave no details. “We are trying to break the American blockade,” Chavez said. “They want to disarm us and reign over the whole world.”
Chavez never made it to Volgograd’s military enterprises even though the visits were on the agenda. He said he had already been to the Barrikady plant but did not go to the Volgograd Tractor plant, where armored vehicles had been put for an exhibition for him, because he was late.
Venezuela’s leader is going to Izhevsk today where he will visit the Izhevsk Machine-Building Plant. Later, he will set out to Moscow to meet Vladimir Putin.
Rifles
Hugo Chavez has been arranging his visit to Russian for a long time. The Venezuelan president would like to come to Russia much earlier – in May or June. The Russian party, however, preferred to put off the visit on the eve of the Russian-held G8 summit and lowered the status of the trip down to an ordinary working meeting with informal talks with Vladimir Putin. Hugo Chavez agreed to this since the trip to Russia is crucial for him. The visit has two impications – technical and ideological. Hugo Chavez hopes to derive double benefits from the Russian visit contracting a new big arms shipment and teaching the United States another lesson.
Hugo Chavez has been learning to play the role of the leader of the international anti-Americanism for a few years. Latin America is the first front for his activities. Hugo Chavez diligently tries to surround Venezuela with the axis of associates who share his revolutionary ideas of Bolivar. The activities have had mixed success so far. A friendly regime has been established in Bolivia but Hugo Chavez’s associates are losing in Ecuador, Peru and Mexico.
Venezuela’s president does not give up despite the slow expansion of Simon Bolivar’s ideas on the continent. Russian arms are a main tool of his pressure. The Venezuelan leader announced two months ago that the country would halt armaments purchases from the United States, just a few weeks after the States imposes a ban on arms sales to Caracas. The two demarches were provoked by a revitalizing military and technical cooperation between Venezuela and Russia. Moreover, Chavez obviously hopes to become a distributor of Russian arms in Latin America.
Chavez repeatedly refers to the motive that drives him to buy more Russian arms –“the threat of American military invasion.” He says Washington has mapped out a plan of the attack on Venezuela, and Caracas is familiar with the details. Hugo Chavez frequently instruct his people on how they should prepare to hold the line against the United States – blow up oil deposits, go to the mountains and “defend every street, every hill and every corner” with Kalashnikovs from Russia.
The United States, however, is convinced that Hugo Chavez is arming himself not for the sake of protection but for spreading his ideas in Latin America. What is more, Washington claims that shipments of the arms bought by Caracas are sent to Columbian insurgents who have been fighting against the government for more than 30 years. In any case, this Russian visit will bolster Hugo Chavez and his supporters and increase Washington’s concerns.
Back in 2005, Caracas and Moscow signed a notorious contract for 100,000 Kalashnikov assault rifles. The contract was executed, and the first shipment went to the Venezuelan army this year. Hugo Chavez, however, has always stated it explicitly that he needs more than 100,000 Kalashnikovs. Venezuela is ready to buy another 920,000 rifles and is now in talks with Rosoboronexport, Russia’s military exports agency, to set up the licensed production of AK-103 assault rifles in Venezuela. In addition, a contract has been signed to supply Venezuela with 33 Russian Mi-35 helicopters and 24 Su-30MK2 jets to substitute American F-16 which are currently adopted by the Venezuelan Air Force. The contracts are estimated at $3 billion.
Oil Weapon
Oil is by far a more important weapon for Hugo Chavez. Venezuela is the world’s major oil exporter and important supplier of fuel for the United States. Hugo Chavez plays the part of the fighter for high oil prices. Venezuela’s leader is the main proponent of reducing quotas at the OPEC on oil production that would trigger a new fuel price hike.
Hugo Chavez counters the influence of the States not only in Latin America. The rest of the world is his second front. He has been long and consistently gathering around leaders whose interests are also at odds with the U.S. policy. His present tour clearly demonstrates it. The trip looks like a ritual riding around the axis of evil. At the start of the route he met Fidel Castro in Buenos Aires. With Fidel’s blessing he went to see Alexander Lukashenko, “Europe’s last dictator. The two leaders met for the first time in Minsk and had a good exercise in anti-American criticism. ‘Jaws of imperialism and hegemony are over Belarus. Our countries must keep the hands on swords hilts,” Hugo Chavez gave his advice to Alexander Lukashenko.
Venezuela’s president is making a stopover in Iran after leaving Russia. The meeting of the two most outspoken critics of America – Hugo Chavez and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad – is going to the pinnacle of this road show. Initially, Chavez planned to visit North Korea and meet Kim Jong-il but the Venezuelan gave up the idea without any explanations and decided to go to Vietnam, Qata and Mali instead.
In fact, the Venezuelan leader virtually put Russia among rogue countries as Vladimir Putin agreed to meet Hugo Chavez placing himself along with Ahmadinejad and Lukashenko. After hosting the G8 summit Moscow is evidently showing that it can respond to the West’s criticism and turn to its enemies.
Fuel is the main argument of Hugo Chavez and his axis. Venezuela, Iran, Russia and Qatar – the countries that Hugo Chavez is to visit – are major oil and gas suppliers. Therefore, the Venezuelan’s tour apparently aims to create an anti-West oil front. Those leaders who receive Chavez seem to have the same goal.
Hugo Chavez has gone on anti-American oil shows nearly every year since he assumed office. The first trip in 2000 bypassed Russia. That year he went to Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Indonesia, Libya, Nigeria, Algeria and even Iraq where he met Saddam Hussein. Since 2001, leaders of oil powers have become reluctant to receive President Chavez, and he never went to Saddan Hussein again. Yet, the Venezuelan never fails to come to Moscow.
Kommersant 26 07 06
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