Russia, Venezuela sign agreement, oil, weapons deals, joint bank ; mock U.S. prestige

Venezuela and Russia signed broad agreements on energy cooperation Friday, a day after Moscow extended a $1 billion line of credit for Hugo Chavez to purchase arms.

"We have before us a new geopolitical dynamic," Chavez, the Venezuelan president, said during a 24-hour visit to Moscow and the southern city of Orenburg, where he viewed the signing of the accords.

The new force Chavez hailed comes as U.S. influence has waned in parts of Latin America and as Russian-American relations have chilled over both Russia's invasion of neighboring Georgia and Americas plans to build anti-missile facilities in eastern Europe.

Additionally, Chavez, a leading American foe, said the Wall Street crisis is sapping U.S. power and prestige.

"Thank God," he said, "Russia and Venezuela are confidently moving forward."

Vladimir Putin, Russia's prime minister, greeted Chavez and vowed to make relations with Latin America a top Kremlin priority.

He offered to discuss further arms sales to Venezuela and possibly help it develop nuclear energy.

During the Chavez visit, the Kremlin announced that Russia had extended a $1 billion line of credit to Venezuela for Russian arms purchases.

Venezuela has already spent about $4.4 billion on military hardware such as 24 Russian fighter jets, helicopters and some 100,000 Kalashnikov assault rifles.

Last month, Russia sent two long-range bombers to Venezuela for training exercises while Russian warships are steaming toward the Caribbean to conduct joint maneuvers in Venezuelan waters. More