Israel Matzav

Another sign of that successful Russian 're-set'

Here's another indication of just how well President Obama's 're-set' of relations with Russia is working out. The Russians signed an agreement on Friday to build a nuclear power plant for Hugo Chavez's Venezuela.

Chavez presided over the deals at a Kremlin ceremony with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who said the countries shared a "strategic partnership" and a vision of a world free of overwhelming U.S. influence.

"Both Russia and Venezuela favor the development of a modern and just world order -- a world order in which our future does not depend on the will or desire of any one country, its well-being or its mood," Medvedev said.

After the presidents' talks, Russian nuclear agency chief Sergei Kiriyenko and Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro signed a deal on "the construction and use of an atomic power station on the territory of Venezuela."

Russia, which recently finished Iran's first nuclear power plant, has pushed to expand its presence on the global atomic energy market, and stresses other nations' right to peaceful nuclear energy.

Medvedev hinted that Chavez's foe, the United States, might not like the deal, but said it was peaceful.

Relations with Russia sure are improving, aren't they Barack? They're much better than they were under Bush, aren't they? What could go wrong?

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 4:53 AM