Chávez in Moscow to Sign $2bn Arms Deal

Venezuela's president, Hugo Chávez arrived in Moscow yesterday on his latest arms-buying spree, saying that his country needed to buy more weapons to defend itself from the US.

Chávez met Russia's president, Dmitry Medvedev, and was expected to sign a $2bn (£1bn) arms deal for new missile defence systems and diesel-powered submarines during the two-day visit.

"I have great hopes we will be able to continue building our strategic alliance," Chávez said. "The deals will guarantee the sovereignty of Venezuela which is being threatened by the United States."

His latest visit to Moscow - his sixth - is likely to irritate Washington and comes at a time when relations between Russia and the US are under strain.

Moscow is vehemently opposed to the Bush administration's plans to site a missile defence shield in central Europe. It is also hostile to Georgia and Ukraine's US-backed attempts to join Nato.

Chávez told Medvedev he was passing on greetings from Fidel Castro. Taking a thinly veiled swipe at the US, he said Cuba's former president had told him that Russia was the only powerful country to have "common sense".

According to the Russian daily Kommersant, Chávez wants to buy 20 Tor-M1 air defence systems, three or four diesel-powered submarines, and Ilyushin warplanes. After Algeria, Venezuela is the second-biggest buyer of Russian arms, with Chávez having already spent $4bn.

His Kremlin talks were expected to include discussions on oil and gas projects. But Chávez said he also wanted to get to know Russia's new premier. "This is my first visit to President Medvedev. We will get acquainted because a very wise, personal diplomacy is being carried out."

Chávez claims Washington planned the 2002 coup against him. The US accuses him of seeking out its enemies - such as Iran - as allies. Its suspicions are likely to be confirmed today when he flies to Minsk to visit Belarus' president, Alexander Lukashenko. US-Belarus relations are at rockbottom owing to a number of rows.