Russian Navy ships head to Venezuela

MOSCOW (AP)


Russian navy spokesman Igor Dygalo said the nuclear-powered Peter the Great cruiser accompanied by three other ships sailed from the Northern Fleet’s base of Severomorsk on Monday. The ships will cover about 15,000 nautical miles to conduct joint maneuvers with the Venezuelan navy, he told The Associated Press.

The deployment follows a week-long visit to Venezuela by a pair of Russian strategic bombers comes amid increasing tensions with the United States over the Russia-Georgia war.

The intensifying contacts with Venezuela appear to be a response to the U.S. dispatch of warships to deliver aid to Georgia which angered the Kremlin. Russian officials harshly criticized the U.S. deployment to Georgia’s Black Sea coast.

AP