September 11, 2008
(Miraflores Press Office/AP)
Hugo Chavez has welcomed the arrival of two Russian bombers in Venezuela
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Two Russian strategic bombers have landed in Venezuela for military manouevres, as the Kremlin flexes its muscle amid a tense standoff with the United States over the war in Georgia.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said the two Tupolev Tu-160 bombers had arrived in the country last night and that he hoped “to fly one of those things”. The deployment was part of a move towards a “multi-polar world”, he said in a televised address, adding: “The Yankee hegemony is finished.”
Military analysts said it was the first time Russian strategic bombers have landed in the Western Hemisphere since the Cold War. The provocative foray into what has traditionally been America’s backyard comes just days after Russia and Venezuela announced plans for a joint military exercise involving a nuclear cruiser in the Caribbean, and is certain to ratchet up tensions between Moscow and Washington.
The Russian Defence Ministry said the bombers flew to Venezuela on a training mission and would conduct training flights over neutral waters in the next few days before returning to Russia, according to a statement carried by Russian news wires.
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NATO fighters tracked the bombers on their 13-hour trip to Venezuela over the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, the ministry said.
The tracking planes came “dangerously close” at points, Vladimir Drik, a spokesman for the Russian Air Force, said.
The planes - huge supersonic combat aircraft capable of carrying nuclear or conventional bombs and cruise and guided missiles - are currently at El Libertador air base in the northern town of Palo Negro, in Aragua state, according to sources in the Venezuelan defence ministry.
Mr Drik said there were no nuclear weapons on board the planes. However defence spokespeople refused to say whether any other type of weapons were being carried.
Despite denials from the Russian foreign ministry, the deployment appeared to be a tit-for-tat response after the US sent warships to deliver aid to its ally Georgia, following its war with Russia last month. NATO has also been conducting war games in the Black Sea, a move Moscow has denounced as part of a Western military build-up on its doorstep.
“This is a redux of Cold War games, and a dangerous thing to do,” Moscow-based military analyst Pavel Felgenhauer said. “It will only strengthen the hand of those in the United States who want to punish Russia for its action in Georgia.”
Earlier this week, Russia said it will send a naval squadron and long-range patrol planes to Venezuela in November for a joint military exercise in the Caribbean. Among the ships involved will be the heavy nuclear-powered guided missile cruiser Peter the Great, a vessel with massive firepower whose cruise missiles can deliver nuclear or conventional warheads.
Thomas Gomart of the Paris-based French Institute of International Relations noted that, up to now, Russia had contented itself with selling arms, notably fighter-bombers, to Caracas. But the announcement of the Caribbean manoeuvres seemed to be both an overt challenge to US power and a gesture of support to Mr Chavez's socialist policies.
Alexander Konovalov, head of the Moscow-based Institute for Strategic Assessment, said the deployment would lead to further deterioration in U.S.-Russia relations.
“It’s a demonstration of Russia’s ability to do things nasty: You send warships to the Black Sea and we send bombers next to your door,” Mr Konovalov said. “It will have a negative impact on global stability.”
NATO said yesterday that it had ended a routine exercise by four naval ships in the Black Sea. The alliance said the four ships - US frigate USS Taylor and three similar vessels from Spain, Germany and Poland - were moving back to the Mediterranean Sea after the 18-day mission.
Mr Chavez, ever a vocal critic of what he calls the US “evil empire”, has strongly backed Russia’s stance in Georgia. But he denied that Russia’s plan for a deployment later this year was related to the conflict, saying the Russian navy’s visit had been planned for more than a year.
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Venezuela remains a leading oil supplier to the United States, but as tensions with Washington have grown Mr Chavez has sought allies elsewhere, spending billions of dollars on Russian weapons including helicopters, Kalashnikov rifles and Sukhoi fighter jets.
The belligerent former army colonel said last night that Venezuela was looking to buy Russian submarines and was working with Russia to set up an air-defence system including long-range radar and “rockets ready to defend the country.”
He also announced the country will soon buy 24 Chinese-made K-8 flight training and light attack aircraft.
The socialist leader, who survived a failed 2002 coup he blames on Washington, repeated his accusations of US-backed attempts to kill him or topple him, saying US forces are “looking for active soldiers, looking for pilots to bomb Miraflores,” the presidential palace. F-16 bombers were already stationed on the nearby Caribbean Island of Curacao, he claimed.
Last night, a Chavez ally and TV host, Mario Silva, played a recording on state television of a purported phone conversation in which alleged conspirators discussed plans to overthrow the controversial president. Mr Silva the plotters were former military officers, but did not say whether any US involvement was suspected.
The US Embassy denied any such plans.
“The United States continuously strives for positive and productive relations with Venezuela,” Embassy spokeswoman Robin Holzhauer said. “Unfortunately, the Venezuelan government often responds to these open overtures with name-calling and storytelling. These Venezuelan actions are unfortunate for both of our countries.”
Mr Chavez has called the US Navy’s newly re-established Fourth Fleet a threat. On Wednesday, he said he’s sure “nuclear submarines pass under our noses" off Venezuela’s coast. He said Venezuela is aiming to strengthen its “defensive capability with our strategic allies, and Russia is one of them.”
Speaking later at the christening of a new coast guard patrol ship, Mr Chavez dismissed comparisons to the Cold War, saying:“What’s coming is a multipolar world in which Venezuela is a free country, that’s what’s coming."
His only reference to Cuba was as he explained how he had been reviewing flight theory in a simulator in hopes of flying one of the Russian planes.
Addressing his close friend Fidel Castro, Mr Chavez said: “I’m going to fly a Tu-160. Fidel, I’m going to fly low past you there.”
Source: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article4731547.ece