Latest update April 25th, 2024 12:59 AM
Sep 18, 2008 News
“We continue to watch with interest. The United States is looking for ways to exchange cooperation rather than engage in confrontational gestures,” said Rolf Olsen, the Political and Public Affairs Officer in the United States Embassy in Georgetown.
Two Russian Tupolev-160 strategic bombers, known in the military community as Black Jacks, flew for about six hours over neutral waters in the Caribbean Sea on Monday, taking off from a base in Venezuela, Russia’s Defence Ministry said.
The two bombers took off from the El Libertador air base and were supposed to conduct experiments on using aviation technology in tropical climates, air force spokesman Vladimir Drik said in remarks posted on the Web Site of state broadcaster Vesti-24.
The US embassy in Guyana said that it was cognizant of the presence of the planes in the region ever since they arrived on September 10, last.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez described the arrival of the planes as “notice” to the U.S. that Russia supports his country.
That “notice” came on the heels of the expulsion of the American Ambassador to Venezuela and the threat by the neighbouring republic to withhold oil shipments to the US following verbal clashes between the two countries within recent times.
Venezuela supplies about 20 per cent of the US oil needs.
Despite the rhetoric, Venezuela actually offered assistance to the US in the wake of Hurricane Katrina that devastated New Orleans and neighbouring communities, an offer that the US rejected.
The Venezuelan leader has built his political career by opposing the U.S., which he accuses of imperialism in Latin America. He has called Russia the guarantee of a “multipolar world” and has arranged billions of dollars in arms purchases from there.
Chavez was scheduled to meet with the crew of the visiting bombers yesterday, Vesti-24 reported. He’s already been offered a ride.
“If they ask nicely, we’ll ensure him a safe ride and give him a bird’s eye view of the Caribbean,” Gen. Pavel Androsov, the head of Russia’s long-range air force, said in Moscow on September 11.
The bombers arrived in Venezuela on September 10, after being followed on their journey by aircraft from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
The presence of the Russian bombers in the region is unprecedented but it has brought no comment from any regional leader.
Asked to comment on the operation over what was described as neutral Caribbean waters, one observer said that the bombers would have had to cross the airspace of sovereign states.
The airspace of Guyana, Trinidad and Grenada could have been breached but there was no word of any request by either Venezuela or the Russians.
President Bharrat Jagdeo, when reached for comment, said that Venezuela did not notify Guyana.
However, in the scheme of things, Guyana was minding its own business and refuses to be caught up in the politics of the big nations, he said.
Jagdeo giving Exxon 102 cent to collect 2 cent.
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