3-04-05, 11:52 am

Chavez Warns of Possible Oil Supply Cut if US Attacks Venezuela

New Delhi, Mar 4 (Prensa Latina) Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has reiterated here Friday that his nation, the world’s fifth-largest oil producer, would cut off oil supplies to the United States if Washington tries to attack his country.

“We want to supply oil to the United States. We are not going to avoid supplying oil unless the US government gets a little bit crazy and tries to hurt us,” he told reporters in New Delhi where arrived for a four-day working visit.

The Venezuelan leader spoke to the media after his ceremonial welcome at the presidential palace where he was welcomed by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

“If there is any aggression, there will be no oil,” Chavez insisted. Last month, Chavez and Cuban President Fidel Castro accused the United States of trying to assassinate the Venezuelan leader.

Relations between the United States and Venezuela have deteriorated steadily since Chavez took office in February 1999.

Chavez has accused the United States repeatedly of efforts to destabilize his government. For its part, the Bush administration is uneasy about Chavez´s intimate ties with Cuba and his views of a strong integrated Latin America.

Asked whether the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), of which Venezuela is a member, would augment output to cool near-record prices, Chavez said the oil cartel was producing enough.

'Increasing price of oil has nothing to do with OPEC. It is the structure of the market,' he indicated, adding the organization was nonetheless assessing the situation.

Chavez has signed oil deals with various countries including China since last year and is due to approve an energy agreement intended to enhance cooperation with India during his visit.

He has also striken the same deals with Argentine, Brazil and most recently with Uruguay, right after the inauguration of President Tabare Vazquez.

Energy-hungry India, which imports nearly 70 percent of its fuel needs, has been scouring the world for new supplies to keep its fast-growing economy on track, the Press Trust of India reports.

From Prensa Latina

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