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Russian warships leave for the Caribbean

— Photo: AP

Chugging ahead: Peter the Great, Russian nuclear-powered missile cruiser.

MOSCOW: A squadron of Russian warships set sail to the Caribbean from their base near Murmansk on Monday in the first foray into the backyard of U.S. since the Cold War.

The nuclear-powered missile cruiser Peter the Great, anti-submarine destroyer Admiral Chabanenko and two support ships will take part in war games with Venezuela’s Navy in November. Russian anti-submarine aircraft will also join the manoeuvres. Media reported that the group includes nuclear submarines, but Navy spokesman Igor Dygalo declined to comment on the reports.

The Peter the Great is one of the largest warships of its kind and carries Su-33 jet fighters and helicopters, as well as a variety of weapons systems including Granit long-range cruise missiles that can be armed with nuclear warheads.

Earlier this month Russia sent Tu-160 strategic bombers to Venezuela in the first projection of Russian air power close to the U.S. coast since the breakup of the Soviet Union 17 years ago.

The Caribbean manoeuvres come as Russian-American relations have dipped to their lowest point since the Cold War over Russia’s trouncing of Georgia, Washington’s closest ally in the former Soviet Union.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who will visit Moscow this week, said Latin America needed a strong friendship with Russia to help reduce Washington’s influence in the region.

“We are ridding ourselves from the Gringo empire dominance. We need friends like Russia today,” the firebrand Venezuelan leader told Russian television on Sunday.

On their way to Venezuela, the Russian flotilla is expected to detour through the Gibraltar Strait into the Mediterranean, where the U.S. 6th Fleet is deployed. The Russian warships may visit the strategically located Syrian port of Tartus. Military sources said Russia plans to upgrade its ship maintenance station in Tartus into a full-fledged naval base.

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