Russia lends Venezuela $4 billion for arms

Russia has agreed to loan Venezuela $4 billion to buy Russian military hardware, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Saturday.

"We were in Russia not long ago and the Russian government gave us a $4-billion credit to help us with [building up] our defense capability," Chavez said.

"We are simply doing the task of defending the fatherland from the threat of [the U.S.] empire and its allies," he said.

In a related development, Russian President Dimitry Medvedev met with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a couple of weeks ago, on the sidelines of the Caspian Sea summit.

After their meeting, Mr. Medvedev issued a statement saying that "Russia seeks to improve its political, economic and even military ties with Iran."

The Russian President went on to say that "following the" adoption of the UN "sanctions resolution", certain countries "sought to intensify sanctions against Iran, to which Russia strongly opposed and took stances against."

A few days later, Mr. Medvedev met with US President Barack Obama at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Japan, where the two visionaries pursued their longstanding goal of resetting US/Russian relations.

Hmmm..., Medvedev met with Chavez, Ahmadinejad and Obama, apparently, to solidify his relationship with his friends and allies - 'The Axis of Virtue & Magnanimity.'