Interesting blurb from Reuters this morning. See below:
********************************************************************
ST.PETERSBURG (Reuters) – Russia and Venezuela on Saturday moved closer to an oil venture deal and discussed arms trade, forging a partnership that may drag Russia into a row over the U.S. military presence in Colombia.
Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez, due in Russia in September, said last week he was prepared to buy dozens of Russian tanks to counter the U.S. intention to increase a military presence in Colombia.
“The president of Venezuela is one of the leading international policy makers. He is a very strong personality and a big friend of Russia,” said Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin.
“I know from experience if he said something he will definitely do it,” Sechin told a news conference after talks with Venezuelan Vice President Ramon Carrizalez when asked whether Russia would sell tanks to Venezuela.
Sechin said military cooperation with Venezuela will help Russia’s struggling military industrial complex cope with the economic crisis but declined to comment further on the tank deal saying it was for presidents to work it out.
ARMS PURCHASES
Colombia’s government is expected to sign a deal this month giving U.S. forces increased access to military bases in order to fight the cocaine trade and Marxist insurgents. Chavez has blasted the plan as a threat to regional stability.
“We as a sovereign state must protect our people and in that sense we can make arms purchases that we deem necessary,” Carrizalez said. “These bases without doubt create a threat for all Latin American countries.
Russia, the world’s second largest oil exporter, wants to revive Latin American ties cultivated during the Soviet era. Sechin’s recent Latin American tour included traditional Soviet allies Cuba and Nicaragua.
Russia and Venezuela are expected next month to present a joint venture that aims to develop the Junin 6 block in the Orinoco oil belt, which Venezuela says has the world’s largest hydrocarbon reserves.
Sechin said Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA and a consortium of Russian firms will need to jointly invest $30 billion in Venezuela’s Junin 6 oil field.
***************************************************************
We would do well to remember Putin’s vow to restore to Russia the place which the Soviet Union once occupied at the international table. Also interesting is the phrasing of describing Cuba and Venezuela as Russia’s “traditional” allies in Latin America. Traditional? Only at the height of the Cold War, as a significant thorn in the side of the US and her ability to protect her shores and/or come to the aid of her allies in Europe. What we are witnessing is a 21st Century revival of the Soviyetski Soyuz that once allowed the USSR to hold sway in so many key areas around the globe.
It is also important to remember that the Russians never put their money into a region where their military capability doesn’t soon follow. The stated intention of expanding the Russian Navy comes at a time when it is clear to our allies and potential opponents alike that the US Navy is shrinking. With China’s push for regional dominance, Russia undoubtedly sees an opportunity to accomplish several things at once in Latin America.
1. Continue to support two enemies of the US, (Cuba, Venezuela) bolstering with military and economic aid.
2. Establish themselves with a presence that sits astride a critical SLOC for the US, with the ability to interdict, or at least influence, greatly enhanced over attempting the same from bases in the Baltic or Black Sea.
3. Secure a significant source of the world’s crude oil, a situation that could have devastating impact on key US allies, and by proxy, the US.
Russia’s capabilities are growing, and Putin’s statement of her intent is clear to those who care to see. We would be wise to ensure we have a US Navy able to counter this potential threat to our hemisphere and to our abilities to defend our key allies and vital interests in and across the Atlantic.
Otherwise, an increasingly popular bumper sticker might read; “Got Ships?”
