Russian leader to send defiant message with Venezuela visit

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday visits US foe Venezuela for talks with President Hugo Chavez and joint naval exercises in the Caribbean Sea in a show of defiance on Washington's doorstep, AFP reported. The visit comes on a four-country Latin American tour in which the Russian leader has vowed to revive partnerships from the Soviet era, when the region was an arena for intense Cold War rivalry between Moscow and Washington. Russian officials have insisted the tour is not directed against 'third countries' -- a clear reference to the United States -- but analysts see it as evidence of growing military assertiveness by Moscow and a response to US moves in former Soviet lands.