Russian Warships To Perform Exercises off Venezuelan Coast

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MOSCOW — A convoy of Russian warships headed by the Peter the Great, an atomic-powered heavy cruiser, left yesterday for exercises off the coast of Venezuela, in the first such naval maneuvers since the Soviet collapse.

The visit comes shortly after two Russian Tupolev-160 strategic bombers returned to Russia following a brief training visit to Venezuela, during which they flew for about six hours over neutral waters in the Caribbean Sea. President Chavez of Venezuela, who is due in Russia in the middle of this week on a tour that includes Cuba and China, has made a priority of building closer ties with the Cold War adversary of America.

Russia’s official gazette, Rossiiskaya Gazeta, under the headline “The Peter the Great Discovers America,” said the convoy will consist of four ships, including the anti-submarine ship Admiral Chabanenko and two auxiliary vessels.

The flagship Peter the Great, with a crew of 655, has a “practically unlimited range” because of its atomic power source, Rossiiskaya Gazeta said. It’s carrying 500 rockets of different specifications, the paper said. The Admiral Chabanenko has a crew of 220, it added.

The convoy left from the naval base of Severomorsk, in northern Russia, and will carry out joint maneuvers in the Caribbean with the Venezuelan navy from November 10-14, state broadcaster Vesti-24 reported.


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