Moscow sends navy ships to US 'backyard'

Russian warships set sail yesterday for manoeuvers in the Caribbean area calculated to demonstrate to the United States Moscow's return as a global power on the military and political stage.

The exercises, drawing on a strong alliance with Venezuela's anti-American President Hugo Chavez, will be closely watched by Western navies as the first such projection of Russian power close to US shores since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Navy spokesman Igor Dygalo said the nuclear-powered heavy missile cruiser Peter the Great and antisubmarine destroyer Admiral Chabanenko left their base near Murmansk with two support ships for the 24,000 km passage to Venezuela.