Russia has granted a one-billion dollar (682-million euro) loan to Venezuela to buy Russian arms, the Kremlin said in a statement on Thursday, ahead of a visit by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. "Russia has taken the decision to grant Venezuela a credit of one billion dollars for implementing programmes in the field of military-technical co-operation," the statement said, using diplomatic jargon for arms sales.
Venezuela has been asking for the loan for months, according to Russian media reports.