Chávez to visit Russia this month

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez will arrive in Russia July 22 to "strengthen the strategic alliance" between both countries and "to supervise the building of military tanks that could be purchased by our country," said a Venezuelan government statement.

During a Socialist party meeting held Wednesday night in the Venezuelan city of Maracay, Chávez also announced that he would "visit other European countries between July 22 and 26 to contact some European leaders." The Venezuelan ruler did not elaborate, according to the Presidential Palace official communiqué.

Last June 17, Spanish Foreign Affairs Minister Miguel Ángel Moratinos invited President Chávez to visit Spain. However, the visit has not been confirmed yet.

Chávez said that Russia offers "loan facilities to purchase military weapons and hardware to help modernize the Bolivarian army to an optimum level of operation."

Since 2005, Venezuela has bought 24 Russian Sukhoi-30 aircrafts and 50 armed helicopters, for a total of USD 2 billion, according to Russian government data.