Chavez (left) and Putin plan to boost trade in oil and arms
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Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has met Russia's President Vladimir Putin in Moscow to discuss co-operation between their huge energy industries.
The visit is expected to result in an agreement on a joint venture between Russian oil giant Lukoil and the Venezuelan oil company PDVSA.
Lukoil plans to invest $1bn in the development of oilfields in north-east Venezuela.
Both Russia and Venezuela are among the world's top five oil producers.
The presidents are also to discuss military co-operation and sign a protocol concerning Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization. Venezuela is a WTO member, so its consent is needed for Russia to join.
Lukoil is Russia's second-largest oil producer
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The Russian media have devoted much space to perceived similarities between the two countries and their leaders.
"The fact that these are two oil-addicted economies is the most obvious parallel," comments Maxim Yusin of Russia's Kommersant newspaper.
"Most budget revenues come from oil and - in Russia's case - gas, which allows both countries to benefit from high oil prices and direct revenues to the public sector without undertaking reforms," he says.
Both leaders are seen as ex-colonels with an authoritarian style.
But Yusin says that while Mr Chavez is "a skilled orator, demagogue and populist", Mr Putin is "an unemotional secret service man".
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