Russian and Venezuelan leaders meet

MOSCOW, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin met Friday to outline business and military cooperation.

At the meeting at the Russian government's Novo-Ogaryovo retreat near Moscow, Putin said the two countries were "ready to consider a joint use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes."

Russia also planed to "implement agreements on cooperation between our naval forces," Putin said, Itar-Tass reported Friday.

Putin pointed out that Russian gas giant Gazprom was about to launch a drilling project in the Gulf of Venezuela. "The new prospects opening before us embrace power engineering, high technologies, machine-building and petrochemical industry," Putin said.

Chavez said: "And if our two countries don't move ahead at the same pace, they'll simply sink. But contrary to that, our dynamics enables us to keep afloat."