Chavez in nuclear talks with Russia!

[spartan]

Vladimir Putin, Russia's prime minister, has said he wants to look at nuclear co-operation with Caracas, after meeting Hugo Chavez, Venezuela's president, at his residence on the outskirts of Moscow.

Putin said: "We are all ready to look at the possibility of operating in the sphere of peaceful atomic energy."

Earlier on Thursday, Moscow had announced a $1bn loan to Venezuela to buy arms.

Following the talks with Putin, Chavez will travel to the city of Orenburg, near Kazakhstan, to meet Dmitry Medvedev, Russia's president, on Friday.

The Venezuelan president's trip, which is expected to focus on military co-operation and trade, is his third visit to Russia since June 2007.

It comes just three days after Russia sent a massive naval fleet to the Caribbean for joint exercises with Venezuela.

Moscow has been stepping up its relations with Venezuela in a pointed response to Washington's support for Georgia and other aspects of what the Kremlin sees as United States encroachment near its borders.

According to Russian media reports, Venezuela has been asking for an arms loan from Moscow for months.

Chavez's latest world tour is taking him to several countries whose governments are eager to limit the influence of the US.

His trip to Russia followed talks in China, with Hu Jintao, the country's president.

Growing alliance

Russia's Kommersant daily newspaper reported on Thursday that the visit was part of the run-up to local elections in Venezuela and that Chavez would use the trip to stress his alliance with Russia against the US.

Chavez and Medvedev are expected to observe Russian army exercises taking place in Orenburg, Kommersant reported, an event that would emphasise the growing military ties and arms sales between the two countries.

Earlier this month, in deployments not seen since the Cold War, Russia sent two long-range bombers to Venezuela for exercises and has dispatched a flotilla of warships from the Arctic base of Severomorsk to Venezuela near US waters.

Venezuela has bought Russian fighter jets, tanks and assault rifles and is planning to purchase anti-aircraft systems, armoured personnel carriers and more combat aircraft, Kommersant reported earlier, quoting Russian officials.

During his visit to Russia, Chavez is also expected to make a statement supporting Russian military action against Georgia last month.

US-Russia relations are at one of their lowest points since the end of the Cold War because of tensions over Russia's conflict with Georgia and US plans to site missile defence facilities near Russia's borders.

Venezuela, which is to hold local elections in November, expelled the US ambassador to Caracas earlier this month in what Chavez said was an act of solidarity with Bolivia which also expelled its US envoy.

After his visit to Russia, Chavez is due to visit France and Portugal as part of an international tour that has already taken him to China and Cuba.

Neave Barker, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Moscow, said: "The relationship between Venezuela and Russia has been good now for a number of years.

"But the [arms deal] does appear to time specifically to the wake of that war between Russia and Georgia. A pointed attempt perhaps ... to send a clear signal to the United States against their support for Georgia."

Modernisation plans

Meanwhile, Medvedev said on Thursday that Russia's plans to modernise its armed forces will not be affected by the global financial crisis.

"Regardless of any crisis we should build new submarines, should simply deal with the modernisation of the armed forces," Medvedev told the crew of St George the Victor nuclear submarine during a visit to its Pacific home base at Kamchatka Peninsula.

"Our country has means and resources for that," he said in comments showed on national television.

Putin made the revival of the armed forces, neglected in the first post-Soviet decade, a symbol of Russia's resurgence and an additional argument in Moscow's foreign policy.

Medvedev has said the recent war in Georgia showed Russia needed to equip its army with more advanced weaponry and Putin has said the military budget will grow by 28 per cent next year.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2008/09/200892518282265489.html

I support this but we all know that America will construe this into "Venezuela getting nukes!!! Lets invade and restore democracy!!!".

[Abluegreen7]

Even if Hugo was getting Nukes who cares. Why should the United States tell a country they cannot have Nukes?

[Sendo]

any nation getting nukes is bad. There's enough stockpiles lying around to burn the Earth to a crisp a hundred times over. I'd hate to think of more being made.

And eventually we have to deal with disarmament.

That being said*****
We do not stop Venezuela from nuclear armament we stop the US nuclear arsenal, thereby removing the need for deterrents. If any of us are US citizens that is our responsiblity to do and the only practical thing to do.

[TheDifferenceEngine]

Exellent, though maybe Hugo needs to diversify his arms suppliers; one bad turn with Russia and he's wasted a lot of money.

France could be a viable source but (I'm not sure) there my be a EU arms embargo on Venezuela.

I hope the Russians give the Venezuelans the training they need to operate them fancy toys, otherwise they're just very expensive lawn ornaments.

[Harrycombs]

Even if Hugo was getting Nukes who cares. Why should the United States tell a country they cannot have Nukes?

We invaded Iraq because we claimed they had weapons of mass destruction, and oil. Venezuela already has one of those, so if they are getting in the process of getting nukes I am sure the US will be quite unhappy. We also have been trying to stop North Korea's nuclear programs. The United States thinks it rules the world, so we will tell them what they can and cannot have, even though we have no actual right to do so.

[redSHARP]

nukes= bad...nukes in general suck, and NO ONE should have them!

[JimmyJazz]

Who's scared of global warming? Optimists, that's who.

[dez]

We invaded Iraq because we claimed they had weapons of mass destruction, and oil. Venezuela already has one of those, so if they are getting in the process of getting nukes I am sure the US will be quite unhappy. We also have been trying to stop North Korea's nuclear programs. The United States thinks it rules the world, so we will tell them what they can and cannot have, even though we have no actual right to do so.

I don't think the US has moral high ground on nuclear weaponry around the world considering its usage on civilians and its recent support for the Indian pursuit of nuclear weapons.
This could be seen as a late response and a hardening of this new cold war.

[blahpid]

Everybody wants a nuke. wtf. nukes should be gotten rid off. America should stop prancing around the world, ordering every other country to stop acquiring them when they have a whole load of nukes themselves. The only reason nukes exist is so that countries can threaten each other with their power.

[#FF0000]

Yes I don't see much point in obtaining nuclear weapons. However, I don't see a problem with using atomic energy, which this apparently is for.

[BobKKKindle$]

any nation getting nukes is bad

No, in a world dominated by a single aggressive superpower, obtaining nuclear weapons is often one of the only ways a country can retain national independence and defend itself when faced with the threat of imperialist attack. In an ideal world there would be no nuclear weapons, but the imperialist powers will never be willing to give up their stockpiles and are actively engaged in the research of new weapons with enhanced destructive power, and so oppressed nations often have no choice but to develop their own weapons, because the alternative is a position of extreme vulnerability.

[Dust Bunnies]

I support Venezuela's move, as long as there is the bully, The United States around, no country is safe.

[spice756]

If the US invade Venezuela they may find them self with war with Russia.

It is good that Venezuela and Russia are friends and working together to deal with the US super power .But Venezuela having a big army cost lots of money where it may be needed for social programs.

We are way over do for other cold war so bring it on.Tell the world the US is not in charge.

[spartan]

If the US invade Venezuela they may find them self with war with Russia.
Tell that to Georgia who I am sure thought that after annexing South Ossetia Russia wouldn't dare invade for fear of a war with the US.

Since the end of WW2 major powers have not and will never risk direct conflict with each other.

That is why you had the cold war fought between puppets armed by their superpower backers.

[Charles Xavier]

The US Imperialists do not have enough money for another war right now.

[spice756]

If the US invade Russia state they would be at war.I'm sure about that.

Don't know what happen to Georgia it look more like a civil war.

[ÑóẊîöʼn]

any nation getting nukes is bad. There's enough stockpiles lying around to burn the Earth to a crisp a hundred times over.

I'm sorry, but that's a total exaggeration. Environmentally speaking, a nuclear war would be less damaging than a year of routine environmental destruction. It takes asteroids impacting with the energy of millions of megatons of explosive to threaten life on Earth, and considering the amount of times the Earth has been smacked about with big space rocks it seems even that isn't enough.


nukes= bad...nukes in general suck, and NO ONE should have them!

Truly, a masterstroke of reasoning. :rolleyes: What is it about nuclear technology that reduces some people's reasoning skills to the level of Mr Garrison? "Nukes are just bad, m'kay".


Everybody wants a nuke. wtf. nukes should be gotten rid off.

Won't ever happen. Short of civilisational collapse, nuclear technology, both military and civilian, is here to stay.


Yes I don't see much point in obtaining nuclear weapons. However, I don't see a problem with using atomic energy, which this apparently is for.

The point of nuclear weapons is pre-emptive defence against imperialist aggression. Imperialists tend to tread carefully around nations capable of turning their cities into radioactive glass craters.

As for the topic, this is a smart move by Venezuala. They can sell more of their oil supplies to other nations while powering their nation with uranium. This is a good plan in a world where oil is becoming increasingly scarce yet which has plentiful supplies of fissionables.

[spice756]

I'm sorry, but that's a total exaggeration. Environmentally speaking, a nuclear war would be less damaging than a year of routine environmental destruction. It takes asteroids impacting with the energy of millions of megatons of explosive to threaten life on Earth, and considering the amount of times the Earth has been smacked about with big space rocks it seems even that isn't enough.


It is not the damaging it does it is the radioactive gas.

[crimespotter]

It seems that they don't have any plans of world domination so it's A-ok. But the US has always had the instinct to butt itself into other country's business more than we should.

[ashaman1324]

im in full support of venezuela getting nukes/ nuclear energy. with the US around everyone needs nukes "just in case".
:)
this will really piss washington off, one of the last countrys we want with nukes and we wont be able to act against them with russia on their sides. this is bound to give a few annurisms in congress if this goes through.

[spartan]

I'll tell you what if Chavez gets nukes and with this global recession he has no more excuses to not be even more radical.

The nukes will protect him from foreign attack, whilst the global recession gives him the excuse to implement a planned economy if that is what he seeks.

I feel this could be the real test to see whether or not Chavez is a Populist playing with the workers emotions, or a Socialist committed to turning Venezuela into a Socialist state.

[ÑóẊîöʼn]

It is not the damaging it does it is the radioactive gas.

You mean the fallout, which is irradiated dust, not gas.

The thing with the fallout is that it's going to be distributed over a very large area, and consider that the size of nukes relative to total area and the fact that there's only so much radioactivity in a bomb, and it's not as big a problem as the anti-nukies make it out to be.

Also, consider the fact that approximately 2000 nuclear devices have been detonated in nuclear tests, the largest of them being 50 megatons. So far, there has been a distinct lack of entire populations dying of radiation poisoning as a result.