Russian warships have set off for Venezuela for joint exercises unprecedented since the Cold War.
The fleet of ships, headed by the nuclear-powered Peter the Great cruiser, set off from its base at Severomorsk in the Arctic.
The ships are due to take part in joint manoeuvres with Venezuela in November.
The move is seen as a rebuff to the United States, which is facing increasingly fraught relationships with the two nations.
Russian Navy spokesman Igor Dygalo said the shipsset sail at 1000 local time (0600 GMT), and would travel 15,000nautical miles to reach their destination.
“It’s the nuclear-powered guided missile cruiser Peter the Great,the anti-submarine warship Admiral Chebanenko and other accompanyingships,” he told the AFP news agency.
Two Russian bombers arrived in Venezuela last week for training flights.
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