**Russia has agreed to lend Venezuela over $2bn (£1.2bn) to buy weapons, President Hugo Chavez has said.**The credit will be used to purchase nearly 100 tanks and a series of anti-aircraft rocket systems from Russia.
In his weekly TV address, Mr Chavez said the weapons were intended to boost Venezuela’s defensive capacity.
The deal comes as tensions grow between Venezuela and Colombia over its neighbour’s plans to allow the US access to several military bases there.
“The Russian government approved financing of $2.2bn dollars for the cost of the weapons,” Mr Chavez said.
He said the anti-aircraft rockets systems would make it difficult to be attacked.
“With these rockets, it is going to be very difficult for them to come and bomb us. If that happens, they should know that we will soon have these systems installed, [and] for an enemy that appears on the horizon, there it goes,” he said.
Mr Chavez said that the country’s vast reserves of oil and gas demanded military protection.
“We have the largest petroleum reserves in the world. The empire has its sights on them,” he said, using a term which he commonly uses to refer to the US.
Over recent years the country has signed over $4bn worth of weapons contracts with Russia.
Last November, the two states held joint exercises in the Caribbean Sea, close to US territorial waters.