Hugo Chavez has played down reports that Venezuela is spending $US 30 billion on Russian military equipment. The Venezuelan President told journalists in Moscow he had no idea where the figure came from.
However, Chavez has confirmed that his country intends to boost military and technical cooperation with Russia. Strategy analyst Ruslan Pukhov told the Ria Novosty news agency that the Russo-Venezuelan partnership could be worth $US 5 billion within the next 10 years. Military specialists say Russia is the sole supplier of a broad range of modern armaments. Russia and Venezuela have signed a number of agreements in various fields, particularly energy.