Iran Press/Europe: Venezuela welcomed a pair of Russian Tu-160 strategic bombers which are the largest supersonic combat aircraft in the world also known as "Blackjack". Bombers arrived in Venezuela after a flight over the Atlantic Ocean.
The planes touched down at the Simón Bolívar international airport as part of a larger fleet also including an An-124 military transport plane and an Il-62 passenger jet, Russian news agencies reported.
The Russian defense ministry said the bombers were shadowed by Norwegian F-18 fighter jets during part of their flight.
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Venezuela’s defense minister, Vladimir Padrino López, said the arrival of the aircraft for joint maneuvers was not intended as a provocation. “We are makers of peace, not war,” he was quoted as saying by the state broadcaster Venezola na de Televisión (VTV).
The Tu-160, nicknamed the ‘White Swan’ in Russia and designated as ‘Blackjack’ by NATO, flights to Venezuela over the Atlantic Ocean, the Barents, Norwegian and Caribbean Seas did not go unnoticed, as Norwegian F-16 fighter jets shadowed the Russian planes during part of their flight, even though according to the Russian Defense Ministry the flight was conducted “in strict accordance with the international regulations on the use of airspace.”
The bombers’ deployment to the Latin American nation follows Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s visit to Moscow last week. 103/209
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