Article Posted on : - Sep 09, 2008

MOSCOW (BNS): Russian announced it would send its warships to the Caribbean later this year to take part in joint war drills with Venezuelan forces. Moscow's intention to join Venezuela, which falls under US traditional sphere of influence, has made the later unhappy.

Experts describe the Russian intention of joining war games as Kremlin's most provocative diplomatic initiative in the recent times.

Russian foreign ministry on Monday announced that it would send a nuclear powered battleship for the joint exercises with Venezuela.

Moscow's move is being seen as retaliation for US activities in Georgia where it dispatched a command ship and two naval vessels in support of President Mikheil Saakshvili, a man who has been at the receiving end from Kremlin.

A Russian officer confirmed that one of the four ships to Caribbean would be nuclear powered Peter the Great. The other ship would be destroyer Admiral Chabanenko and a tanker.

"We are talking about a planned event not linked with current political circumstances and not in any way connected to events in Georgia," Rusian officials said in Moscow.

The exercises "will in no way be directed against the interests of a third country". The Russian flotilla would also include anti-submarine aircraft. The entire contingent will have more than 1000 sailors and other personnel. The joint exercise is slated to take place from November 10-14.

Russians maintain that the war games were not against a third country. But experts are already linking it with Moscow's growing distance with Washington. The recent bloody conflict in Georgia brought to fore this tussle, the biggest since Cold War.

Washington will not like the fact that Russian forces were joining hands with one of its most bitter rival Venezuela. But Russia has its own reason to enter American backyard. "I wonder how they would like it if we sent humanitarian assistance using our navy to countries of the Caribbean that have suffered from the recent hurricanes," Russian president had said.

Russia is also annoyed with the US over the way it has been providing missile defence shield to eastern European countries.

The US had recently announced that it would re-establish the Fourth Fleet, disbanded in 1953, to patrol the Caribbean. Washington took the pretext of preventing action against drug smuggling for setting up of the force. The move has not gone down well with its detractors.