Russia has recently clinched a series of deals on sales of military hardware to Venezuela, Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, and is developing contacts with Brazil, Chile and Argentina. It is also in talks with Uruguay on setting up a joint venture to produce dual-purpose military products.
"A broad field for constructive, creative work is opening here for Russia, for domestic business," Putin said, adding that Latin America and Africa were becoming actively involved in globalization, which demonstrated that the time of exclusive "zones of influence" was now history.
Russia's largest independent crude producer, LUKoil [RTS: LKOH], plans to place up to 25% of its oil production and some 30% of refining capacities abroad, including in the Middle East and Latin America, as well as West Africa.
