Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez railed against the US at the start of a visit to Russia and called on Moscow to help lead a global revolution against Washington.

Accusing the US of being “imperialist and imposing tyranny,” he said a “revolution” was underway against US global power and that Russia was a key player.

“They don’t want Russia to keep rising but Russia has risen again as a centre of power and we, the people of the world, need Russia, and China, to become stronger every day,” Chavez said at a colourful ceremony opening a Latin American cultural centre in Moscow on Thursday. “History is moving,” he said, “and it’s moving at a gallop.”
Later, Chavez went for dinner just outside Moscow with President Vladimir Putin, who has made a priority of attacking what he calls Washington’s attempt to dominate the world.

Chavez is to attend a horse race in southern Russia with Putin before continuing his tour with visits to Belarus and Iran, two countries that Washington considers to be run by outlaw regimes.

The warm welcome at Moscow for Chavez was likely to irk Washington just days before Putin flies to the US for key talks with President George W Bush on tensions over US missile defence plans.

Chavez, seen as an undemocratic nationalist by the US, lauded Putin’s “brave resistance” against the missile defence sites planned to be deployed in the Czech Republic and Poland.

However, the Kremlin showed signs of wanting to tone down somewhat the Chavez visit, analysts said, pointing to a decision by the pro-Putin parliament not to invite him to make a formal address to deputies.