The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Sergey Lavrov, assured that his country is willing to continue helping Venezuela in strengthening its defense capacity. The statement was made, at a press conference, after meeting in Moscow with his Venezuelan counterpart Jorge Arreaza.
The first military-technical cooperation agreement signed between Russia and Venezuela was formalized in May 2001, during a visit to Moscow by then-President Hugo Chávez; however, it was in 2005 that the first purchase contracts were signed that included assault rifles and helicopters.
In the following years, new purchases of Sukhoi Su-30MK2 fighters, T-72V1 tanks, 8×8 BTR-80 and BMP-3 series armored vehicles were made; field artillery systems such as BM-30 Smerch 12x300mm and BM-21-1 Grad 40x122mm mobile multiple rocket launcher systems and 152mm MSTA-S 2s19 self-propelled howitzers; S-300VM Antey-2500, BUK M2E, and Pechora 2M air defense missile systems, among other equipment.