Russia plans to help Venezuela build a nuclear power station, President Dmitry Medvedev said Friday.

Russia and Venezuela signed an agreement Friday on the construction, during Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s visit to Russia, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency of Russia reported.

The two countries reached the agreement in April, after Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin visited Venezuela, the agency reported.

Russia’s intentions are pure and open, Medvedev said.

The nations have increased their cooperation on a number of fronts in recent years. Chavez said after visiting Russia last year that his country had purchased weapons from Russia.

“By the way, we signed some military agreements with Russia. Well … soon will arrive some little rockets,” Chavez said then. “We are not going to attack anyone. … Those are only defense instruments because we are going to defend the nation, from any threat, from wherever it comes.”

In Moscow Thursday, Chavez announced that Venezuela has decided to recognize the independent republics of 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.

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(Source: CNN)