– Russian military ships in Putin’s ally Venezuela
Russian military ships are to remain in a Venezuelan port for several days to “show the flag and ensure a naval presence in important operational areas.”
The boats were visible on Tuesday, July 2, 2024 in La Guaira, the port and airport of Caracas, AFP journalists noted.
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Russian military ships from the Northern Fleet docked Tuesday for “several days” in Venezuela, whose President Nicolas Maduro is a staunch ally of Vladimir Putin.
The Russian Defense Ministry said the ships belong to the Northern Fleet, and will stay in the Caribbean country for “several days.” Their presence in the region is intended to “show the flag and ensure a naval presence in important operational areas,” the ministry added in a statement.
The ships include the Admiral Gorshkov, the most advanced frigate in the Russian fleet, which has been in service since 2018, and the tanker Akademik Pashin. Venezuelan authorities have not yet mentioned the presence of the military vessels.
The United States, which “as part of our (their) normal daily operations” closely monitors ships, including Russian ones, in international waters, considered that the visit was “part of Russia’s usual naval activities” and was “not considered a threat to the United States,” according to a statement from US Southern Command.
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Russia and Venezuela have close ties. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who is seeking a third term in the July 28 presidential election, described his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin as an “older brother” in February. He said that the Kremlin’s newly announced re-election was “a good omen for the world.”
The ships that arrived in Venezuela had already stopped in Cuba in mid-June, accompanied by a nuclear-powered submarine and a tugboat. They were therefore about 150 kilometers from the American coast during this visit to this other major Russian ally, with tensions between Washington and Moscow at their highest over the conflict in Ukraine.
Just before entering Havana harbor, the ships had participated in an “exercise on the use of high-precision missile weapons,” according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
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