Russian President Dmitry Medvedev meets his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chavez in Moscow, October 15, 2010. STORY HIGHLIGHTS- Russia plans to help Venezuela build a nuclear power station
- The two countries signed an agreement to that effect Friday
- Medvedev says "our intentions are absolutely pure and open"
- Russia
- Venezuela
- Nuclear Energy
Moscow, Russia (CNN) -- Russia plans to help Venezuela build a nuclear power station, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Friday.
The two countries signed an agreement on the construction during Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's visit to Russia.
They reached the agreement in April, after Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin visited Venezuela.
"I don't know who might wince from this news," Medvedev said at a news conference. "The president (Chavez) said that there are countries which may have different feelings about it. But I'd like to say that our intentions are absolutely pure and open."
Medvedev said Russia sees atomic energy cooperation as one of its international priorities and builds nuclear power stations around the world.
In addition to helping Venezuela build the nuclear power station, Russia will build a research reactor to produce isotopes for peaceful industries and medicine, according to the text of the agreement.
Russia and Venezuela have increased their cooperation on a number of fronts in recent years. Chavez has visited Russia nine times. He said after a visit last year that his country had purchased weapons, including rockets, from Russia.
"We are not going to attack anyone," Chaves said then. "Those are only defense instruments because we are going to defend the nation from any threat, from wherever it comes."
Last year, Russia approved $2.2 billion in credit to Venezuela to finance arms purchases. The credit was for the purchase of 92 Soviet-era T-72 tanks and short-range missiles with a 55-mile (90-kilometer) reach, and Venezuela also planned to purchase an anti-aircraft weapons system with a range of 185 miles (300 km).
News of the arms deal raised concerns in the United States, where a State Department spokesman said in 2009 that Venezuela's desire to increase its arsenal poses a "serious challenge to stability in the Western Hemisphere." This year, however, State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said Venezuela's ambition to increase its arsenal, while suspicious, is an issue "between Venezuela and Russia."
"We don't care. ... Our primary concern is not if Venezuela wants to acquire ... this equipment," he said. "Our primary concern is that if Venezuela is going to increase its military hardware, we certainly don't want to see this hardware migrate into other parts of the hemisphere."
In September 2009, Chavez announced while in Russia that Venezuela would recognize as independent republics Abkhazia and South Ossetia, becoming just the third country, after Russia and Nicaragua, to do so. Russia generally has backed independence for the two regions.
Nearby Georgia, which fought a war with Russia in 2008, opposes independence for the two regions.
Chavez also met last year with Medvedev and Putin to negotiate and sign new oil and gas contracts between their countries.
CNN's Maxim Tkachenko contributed to this report.