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US concerned about Hugo's weapons purchases
The main concern of the US government about a potential large sale of Russian arms to Venezuela is that the equipment may end up in third countries, US Department of State Spokesman Philip Crowley said on Monday. "But our primary concern is that if Venezuela's going to increase its military hardware, we certainly don't want to see this hardware migrate into other parts of the hemisphere," Crowley said in a press conference. Venezuela could make a request for Russian military equipment for more than USD 5 billion, Russian Premier Vladimir Putin said on Monday after his visit to Caracas, AFP reported. The United States and its main Latin American ally, Colombia, have accused Venezuela several times of financial and logistic links with the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC). Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez has stubbornly denied such links with the Marxist guerrillas. "We can probably think of better things that could be invested on behalf of the Venezuelan people," Crowley said. The spokesman insisted on saying that the United States does not mind any relationship between Caracas and Moscow. However, he immediately added: "We're hard-pressed to see what legitimate defense needs Venezuela has for the equipment." According to the high-ranking officer, Venezuela has a responsibility for transparency in its acquisitions. Posted by: Steve White 2010-04-06 |
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