Russian and Venezuelan leaders meet

Moscow -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin met Friday to outline business and military cooperation.

At the meeting at the Russian government's Novo-Ogaryovo retreat near Moscow, Putin said the two countries were "ready to consider a joint use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes."

Russia also planed to "implement agreements on cooperation between our naval forces," Putin said, Itar-Tass reported Friday.

Putin pointed out that Russian gas giant Gazprom was about to launch a drilling project in the Gulf of Venezuela. "The new prospects opening before us embrace power engineering, high technologies, machine-building and petrochemical industry," Putin said.

Chavez said: "And if our two countries don't move ahead at the same pace, they'll simply sink. But contrary to that, our dynamics enables us to keep afloat."

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.