Russia to export $5 bln of mil equipment to Venezuela

"The orders for military hardware may exceed 5 billion dollars," Putin said at a conference over the development of the defence sector on Monday, "and this together with the 2.2-billion-dollar loan." The orders will be placed at Russia's 13 head defence firms, including IzhMash and a Tula-based company.

"The work to support exports will continue. You know our delegation visited Venezuela; I wish to inform you that the aggregate volume of orders may exceed 5 billion dollars. On the whole, the sources of funding have been determined and we've coordinated them with our partners."

On April 3, Putin called upon the international community not to be worried over the strengthening of defence capability of smaller states, in response to a remark from a journalist that Russian-Venezuelan military cooperation might pose a threat to the situation in the region; Kazinform cites Itar-Tass. See www.itar-tass.com for full version.