U.S. unsure of Russia-Venezuela exercises
WASHINGTON, Sept. 8 (UPI) -- The United States will be
watching if Russia participates in naval exercises with Venezuela in
November, a Bush administration official said Monday.
While Sean McCormack, assistant U.S. secretary of state for
public affairs, told reporters in Washington he hadn't seen Russia
confirm Venezuela's claim of the warship training maneuvers in the
Southern Hemisphere, "but I suppose if it is, in fact, true, then
they found a few ships that can make it that far."
McCormack said it would be "probably overstating it" to call
Russia's participation in Venezuelan exercises an intrusion into the
United States' sphere of geographical influence and control.
"I'm not aware of any legal violations. And certainly, like
I said, we'll watch it, we'll see if the exercises come off,"
McCormack said.
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