Russia edges closer to Venezuela oil deals

Rosneft chairman and deputy head of the Kremlin administration, Igor Sechin, speaks during Rosneft's annual shareholders meeting in Moscow June 30, 2007 in this file photo. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin announced his cabinet line-up on May 12, 2008, re-appointing his previous finance, economy, foreign and defence ministers and keeping former prime minister Viktor Zubkov in the team as fisheries minister and first deputy prime minister. Former Kremlin deputy chief-of-staff Sechin will become a deputy prime minister. REUTERS/Alexander Natruskin/Files (RUSSIA)

Building ties: Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin

ALEXANDER NATRUSKIN

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By News wires

 17 August 2009 12:48 GMT

Russia and Venezuela on Saturday moved closer to an oil venture deal and discussed arms trade, forging a partnership that may drag Russia into a row over the US military presence in Colombia.



Russia, the world's second largest oil exporter, wants to revive Latin American ties cultivated during the Soviet era.

Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin’s recent Latin American tour included traditional Soviet allies Cuba and Nicaragua.

Russia and Venezuela are expected next month, during which the Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is scheduled for a visit to Russia, to present a joint venture that aims to develop the Junin 6 block in the Orinoco oil belt.

Venezuela claims that the Orinoco belt holds the world's largest hydrocarbon reserves.

Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA and a…

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