Caracas Venezuela — Two Russian warships docked in the Venezuelan port of La Guaira on Tuesday after exercises in the Atlantic Ocean that Moscow said were to “show the flag” in remote and important regions, and a initial stopover in Cuba.
The Admiral Gorshkov frigate and the Akademik Pashin tanker are part of Russia’s Northern Fleet, which since May 17 has been carrying out tasks that include “ensuring the Russian naval presence” in “remote areas of the oceans,” the agency cited Russian news outlet Tass. As the Ministry of Defense says.
The stopover would last several days and would highlight the close ties between Moscow and the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Like his predecessor, the late President Hugo Chávez, Maduro has forged a close relationship with Russia. The visit comes before Maduro seeks re-election in the July 28 elections.
Venezuelan authorities have not reported the arrival of the Russian vessels, which could barely be seen from afar docked in La Guaira, but Associated Press journalists saw their crew members in the historic center of the city.
In mid-June, the Admiral Gosrhkov and the tanker were among the Russian vessels that docked in Havana, Cuba.
The other vessels present at that stop included a nuclear powered submarine, and remained docked there for five days after conducting exercises in the Atlantic Ocean. Some saw the exercise as a show of force by Moscow amid tensions as the United States and other Western nations support kyiv in Russia’s war against Ukraine.
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