The Kremlin will downplay the fact that the bombers have flown to Venezuela despite the fact that it was the first such flight characteristics since the end of the Cold War
Russia said on Thursday that the two long-range bombers sent to Venezuela which only made test flights over neutral waters and not carrying live ammunition of war, whether nuclear or any other Kremlin tipo.El he downplayed the fact that bombers have flown to Venezuela despite the fact that it was the first such flight characteristics since the end of the Cold War and said that the warplanes will return to Russia at the beginning of next week.
The military aircraft landed in Venezuela on Wednesday, before some military exercises in Russia and Venezuela that seem a show of force after several warships in the U.S. humanitarian aid arrived in Georgia.
The former Soviet republic last month held a brief armed conflict with Russia.
Russian military analysts said that the presence of Russian aircraft in Venezuela is the first time that Russia bombers landing in the American continent since the end of the Cold War.
Tense relationships in Moscow and Washington
The military exercises in Russia with a government that is a confessed enemy of the United States probably will aggravate an already tense relationship between Moscow and Washington.
The greatest general of the Russian air force Pavel Androsov said in televised comments that the bombers Tupolev 160 carrying only test projectiles.
He said that the planes with jet engines made some test flights over neutral waters and then return to Russia on Monday. That means that the planes would not participate in military exercises that Venezuela and Russia plan to perform in the Caribbean in one day this year.
It is anticipated that the deployment of force - which will include a squadron naval patrol aircraft and powerful - are the biggest Russian naval maneuvers in the Caribbean and perhaps in the American continent since the Cold War.
The flight was on the orders of Russian President
The Russian president, Dimitri Medvedev, said he ordered the Tu-160 flights made at the invitation of Venezuelan President, Hugo Chávez, who has expressed interest in boarding aircraft with a capacity of nuclear attack.
"Pilots are powerful people sensitive. If they (Venezuelans) to us and if we kindly ask permission, he will fly safely and we'll show you the Caribbean Sea from a maximum altitude of operation," he said Androsov.
The Tu-160, known as "Blackjack" in the West, is a strategic long-range bomber capable of conducting nuclear strikes.
For his part, Russian Foreign Ministry rejected speculation that Russia was trying to establish military bases in South America.
"Russia has no military base in americas America. The bombers landed in Venezuela in line with a previous bilateral agreement," said spokesman Andrei Nesterenko in a statement.
The Russian air force has always strictly obeyed the rules of international flights over neutral waters. These flights do not violate the airspace of other nations, "he said Nesterenko.
For his part, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin hinted that the reaction to the flight of Russian aircraft and naval exercises next was excessive. He criticized again for using U.S. warships to deliver humanitarian aid on the coast of Georgia on the Black Sea, despite the fact that Russian military forces were in the vicinity.
Putin said that Washington would react strongly if any foreign military aircraft fly over the United States:
"What I mean is that God does not want to have any kind of conflict on the American continent, because this is regarded as' the holiest '" he said.
"And they bring ships with arms to a location just 10 miles from where we are? Is this normal? Is it a fair decision?"
