Russia and Venezuela signed several energy pacts yesterday as Moscow sent a clear signal to Washington it was strengthening ties with the US foe amid a deepening diplomatic chill over Georgia.
The two presidents, Dmitry Medvedev and Hugo Chávez, pledged closer co-operation as Mr Chávez visited Russia for the second time in just over two months. His visit came as a fleet of Russian warships were sailing towards the Venezuelan coast for naval exercises.
The exercises will mark the first such action in the US's backyard since the end of the cold war. They show Russia's increasing frustration at what it sees as US meddling in its near abroad, including over Georgia and the positioning of the US missile defence shield near its borders.
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