MOSCOW. Dec 13 (Interfax-AVN) - The two Russian Tupolev Tu-160 strategic bomber aircraft flew over the Caribbean Sea and practiced interaction with crews operating Venezuela's fighter jets, the Russian Defense Ministry's information department said.
"During the international visit by the [Russian] Aerospace Forces' delegation to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, the pilots of the Tu-160 strategic missile carrying aircraft performed a flight in the airspace over the Caribbean Sea. The flight lasted for about ten hours," the ministry said.
"At individual stages of the flight's itinerary, the Russian missile carrying planes flew alongside [Sukhoi] Su-30 and F-16 fighter jets of the [Venezuelan] Bolivarian National Air Force. The pilots of the two countries practiced interaction in mid-air while tackling flight tasks," it said.
"The flight was conducted in strict compliance with international rules for the use of airspace," it said.
The Russian military reported earlier that two Russian Tu-160 strategic bomber aircraft had arrived in Venezuela along with the Russian Aerospace Forces' Antonov An-124 heavy military-transport airplane and Ilyushin Il-62 long-haul aircraft, which accompanied the Tu-160s on their way from Russia to Maiquetia International Airport in Venezuela.
Tu-160 planes visited Venezuela in 2008 and 2013.