By Eliane Portillo

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez  reviewed bilateral strategic cooperation during a telephone conversation on the morning of January 16, 2012, according to a press release from the Ministry published on Tuesday.

Putin highlighted the start of operations of the Russian-Venezuelan binational bank and the development of military-technical cooperation as major achievements in 2011, which enabled bilateral trade to increase by 1.4 billion dollars by the end of the year. The report says that Putin and Chavez pointed the main issues of strategic cooperation between the two countries, which today covers a broad spectrum of areas of work and exchange.

According to the news, the Russian prime minister congratulated President Chavez for his Report and study at the National Assembly, which he described as the best democratic exercise.

Putin said his government is making efforts to accelerate business investment in Venezuela says the press release.