Asia Pacific Defence & Security Exhibition

eluniversal 27May 2008

Colombian Vice-President Francisco Santos dismissed on Tuesday that a visit to Russia the first week of June is aimed at preventing the sale of Russian weapons to Venezuela, as reported by daily newspaper Kommersant.

"It is a high level visit with plenty of business, political and geopolitical contents. The arms issue is not in the agenda," said Santos in a press conference in Bogotá.

"It could be a misunderstanding of what was said in an interview" with the Russian newspaper, he added.

Asked "if we were worried about the arms sale to Venezuela, I told them that yes, absolutely, but we were aware of Russia's stringent controls."

"There was not a different discussion for that matter," the Vice-President added.