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Chavez
eyes Russian fighters after Brazil deal out
CARACAS,
Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said
on Monday he could buy Russian combat fighters after charging
Washington had torpedoed a deal to buy aircraft from Brazilian
aerospace manufacturer Embraer.
The
Venezuelan leader was speaking at a demonstration of the
first three Russian-made helicopters his government purchased
as part of a series of arms deals to upgrade the armed forces
of the world's No. 5 oil exporter.
The
U.S. government, which accuses Chavez of working to undermine
regional democracy, has opposed Venezuela's recent arms
purchases and moved to block deals for equipment containing
U.S.-made military technology.
Chavez
counters that U.S. officials plan to invade Venezuela to
seize its oil reserves. He has sought arms deals with Spain,
Brazil and Russia and ordered his military and civilian
reserves to train for "asymmetric" or resistance
warfare.
"We
wanted to buy some Brazilian training aircraft for our pilots
... the U.S. has stopped that operation," Chavez told
an audience at the helicopter event. "It's a pity for
Brazil because it was a good deal ... we are ready to buy
Russian fighters to have them here defending the skies."
Venezuela
had planed to buy Supertucano trainers from Embraer, and
Brazil last year said it would support the deal. Arms transactions
involving U.S.-made technology must be approved by Washington.
U.S.
officials worry about Chavez's ties to Cuba and accuse the
self-proclaimed socialist revolutionary of using his oil
wealth to spread an anti-democratic message. Supporters
applaud his initiatives for the poor, but critics say he
has become authoritarian since his 1998 election.
Authorities
said they expect to take delivery of a total of 15 MI-type
military helicopters this year as part of an agreement to
purchase more aircraft from Russia and 100,000 Kalashnikov
rifles to replace Venezuela's aging FAL rifles.
"These
helicopters are ideal for the war of resistance," Chavez
said after watching troops parachute out of the aircraft.
"The anti-imperialist war... a war which hopefully
will never come, but we have to be ready."
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