CARACAS, Venezuela, May 26 (UPI) -- Russian defense experts have said that Moscow will not bow to U.S. pressure over arms sales to Venezuela.
The reason given is that following the recent downturn in Russian-U.S. relations, such a sale could not make relations any worse than they currently are.
The Moscow Times reported on May 24 that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Frias has reiterated that he is interested in buying Russian fighters to replace Venezuela's aging fleet of 21 F-16s bought from the United States in 1983 and 1984.
In an aside calculated to annoy Bush, Chavez said that any nation, including Iran, was welcome to buy the U.S. planes.
Chavez is considering buying an unspecified number of Russian-made Sukhoi-30 and Sukhoi-35 jet fighters.
Chavez said, "The Sukhoi-30 and Sukhoi-35 are very superior to the F-16s," claiming that the Russian aircraft were "100 times better," adding that he hoped to finalize a deal during an upcoming trip to Moscow.
Venezuela's Ambassador to Russia Alexis Navarro Rojas noted that Venezuelan pilots had already flown the Russian aircraft, commenting, "Our pilots have flown on Sukhoi-27 and Sukhoi-30 fighters already. They have simply fallen in love with the aircraft. They have also tried piloting the Sukhoi-35. Now we are waiting for talks to begin."
