Russian Leader Follows Warships to Venezuela in Boost to Alliance

President Dmitry Medvedev was due to accelerate Russia's drive into Latin America with a visit to Venezuela last night, a day after Russian warships dropped anchor off the country's Caribbean coast. The Russian leader was to meet President Hugo Chávez to deepen economic and military links and present a united diplomatic front against Washington in the countdown to Barack Obama's administration.

The first visit by a Russian leader to Caracas underlined a burgeoning alliance between the two countries, both big energy producers, and their ambition to convert petrodollars into strategic clout.

Earlier Medvedev met Brazil's president, Luiz Lula da Silva, in Rio de Janeiro. They announced a plan to hold the first summit of major emerging market countries, known as BRICs, in Russia next year. The other members are China and India. Tomorrow the Russian president is to discuss oil and economic accords with President Raul Castro in Cuba.

The Russian nuclear-powered cruiser Peter the Great and the destroyer Admiral Chabanenko arrived in Venezuelan waters on Tuesday after a two-month journey from Murmansk. It was Moscow's first show of naval force in the region since the cold war.

Next week the visiting warships are due to hold joint exercises with Venezuela's fleet - a relatively small force designed for coastal patrols - near the port of La Guaira and further out at sea, practicing tactical manoeuvres against narco-traffickers and terrorists, said Luis Morales Marquez, a Venezuelan vice-admiral. "It is a chance for us to strengthen our friendship and solidarity with the Russian navy."

The visit was a moment to savor for Chávez. He has made seven visits to Moscow, including three this year, to woo support for his vision of a multipolar world. Medvedev, more prosaically, was expected to try to sell more weapons.