Russia arms diplomacy in America's "backyard"

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez held a bilateral meeting. Many ideas for increasing defense ties between the two sides were exchanged during the meeting between the two Ministers on December 6.

The exchange was part of a visit to Russia by a delegation led by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. According to TASS, Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez said that the country is particularly interested in upgrading the weapons systems that Russia has previously supplied to Venezuela.

“During the talks between the Russian and Venezuelan presidents, many issues related to the Venezuelan military were discussed, specifically the program to enhance cooperation and maintenance of military equipment previously provided by Russia to Venezuela. These are air and ground weapons systems. We need to modernize and upgrade these systems,” said Minister Lopez.

In addition to discussing plans to repair and upgrade weapons that Russia has provided to Venezuela, Moscow also expressed hope to extend the freedom of Russian fighter jets to move through Venezuelan airspace and for Russian naval ships to visit the country's ports more often.

In the context of Venezuela being deeply in crisis, along with the US constantly increasing sanctions and tightening pressure on the national economy, Venezuela is also expressing goodwill about the need to contact with more active economic and political countries.

On the eve of the United Nations General Assembly meeting in September 2018, Washington and the Organization of American States (OAS) group agreed to sign a series of additional sanctions against many individuals and entities in this country, including President Maduro's wife.

The crisis in Venezuela has created a wave of migration and refugees across the Americas. And the OAS countries have used this wave as a rationale to increase sanctions. Washington even proposed a military intervention in Venezuela in early September, but the OAS countries vetoed it.

However, the confrontation with the US is forcing Venezuela to seek more support from outside, especially from traditional friends. Coordinating with Russia is probably one such move.

Although economic cooperation between the two sides is not enough to save Venezuela's severely declining economy, military support - Russia's greatest strength - has also given Caracas certain footholds.

In addition, increased support and cooperation for Latin American countries seems to be becoming a new strategic trend of Russian President Putin. In recent times, Moscow has continuously strengthened measures to increase positive influence, in which military weapons are a strength to lead diplomatic measures.

In early December, the Russian Defense Ministry also sent a message that it would sell Argentina all the weapons it wanted in Russia's arsenal without any special political requirements. Russia also increased military cooperation with Cuba, Mexico, Costa Rica...