Military deals between Russia and Venezuela now exceed US$4 billion.

Venezuela is constructing three military plants – to produce Kalashnikov rifles, to make cartridges, and an aircraft repair plant to service Russian helicopter equipment. Caracas plans to buy ten Ilyushin planes, two Il-78MK refueling aircraft and Russian Mi-28NE helicopters.

Venezuela might also become the first export customer for Sukhoi fighter jets, according to the Russian military export company, Rosoboronexport.

Vladimir Kremlev for RT (click to enlarge)

In the near future, military equipment exports to Venezuela could reach $5 billion, said Vladimir Putin.

In energy cooperation – Caracas may build a nuclear power plant in Venezuela with Russia’s support.

The leaders also finalized establishing a joint Russian-Venezuelan bank, as agreed in 2009. The bank’s headquarters would be in Moscow, with offices in Venezuela and China.

Another topic on the agenda was Russia’s assistance in building social housing, hospitals and schools for Venezuela’s poor, which was discussed during a previous visit to Caracas by Russian leaders.

On Thursday Chavez addressed the Two Centuries of Independence of Latin America conference, at the Foreign Literature Library in Moscow. He assured that Venezuela was not building a nuclear bomb, and that it is only interested in nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

Chavez also called the collapse of the Soviet Union a “catastrophe”.He went on to say, “Although the world has changed, Russia and Venezuela continue to play an immense role in the world balance of powers,” Itar Tass quoted.

He also made a number of strong statements regarding the US.

“You must have heard a Mexican leader say, ‘Poor Mexico, so far from God, and so close to the United States,’” Chavez said. “All of us Latin Americans could say the exact same thing. Our poor America. So far from God and so close to the… Yankee empire that has hurt our continent so badly.”