Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin arrived in Venezuela today to discuss energy and defence issues with President Hugo Chavez, dpa reported. Putin was also to meet with Bolivian President Evo Morales, who like Chavez is a strong opponent of US policy in the region. The highlight of the one-day visit, Putin's first to the country, will be a joint venture - between Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA and a consortium of Russian firms including Gazprom and Rosneft - to pump oil from Venezuela's Orinoco belt. Venezuelan Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez has said that the venture could being producing 50,000 barrels a day by the end of the year. In recent years, Venezuela and Russia have steadily been strengthening their defence ties. Between 2005-07, Venezuela has bought 4 billion dollars worth of Sukhoi jet fighters, helicopters, armoured cars and tanks and Kalashnikov assault rifles. The thrust to renew military equipment intensified when tensions were high during the administration of former US president George W Bush, who Chavez insisted was planning an armed invasion to overthrow him. Under Bush, Washington enforced an arms embargo on Venezuela, thus rendering inoperative a squad of F-16 combat planes the country had purchased in the early 1980s.
