.....but the real achievements doubtful as you can read below.

Again nothing about mining and the silence is getting deafening.

oiramoric

But while Mr. Chávez and Mr. Medvedev signed accords during the two-day visit intended to find ways of cooperating in areas like nuclear energy and oil exploration, among other things, the meeting did not yield detailed timetables for bringing such deals to fruition. In Venezuela, the announcement of such agreements often leads nowhere, in part because of difficulties in doing business here.

Beyond next week’s naval maneuvers, no other military cooperation projects were announced. The nuclear accord, which raised the trip’s profile, would involve Russian assistance for developing a nuclear energy program in Venezuela, a country already rich in petroleum and hydroelectric resources.

The leaders presided over a brief ceremony on the warship, for a deal in which Venezuela said it would buy two Ilyushin Il-96 passenger jets, before Mr. Medvedev’s bodyguards whisked him away so the Russian delegation could leave for Cuba, its last destination on a four-nation tour through Latin America.

Earlier, Mr. Chávez decorated the Russian president with a heavy gold necklace, the Grand Collar of the Order of the Liberator Simón Bolívar, after Mr. Medvedev laid a wreath on the tomb of Bolívar, the liberation hero.

Mr. Medvedev’s visit to Venezuela was part of a Russian attempt to gain a foothold in Latin America.

In Havana, Mr. Medvedev met with President Raúl Castro, according to The Associated Press. He was also expected to visit a newly consecrated Russian Orthodox cathedral in Old Havana before leaving Cuba on Friday, The A.P. reported.