Russian geopolitical clout was bolstered last Thursday when Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez recognized two pro-Russian rebel regions of Georgia as independent. Caracas and Moscow also forged several agreements on energy, trade and defense.

“Venezuela from today is joining in the recognition of the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia,” Chávez told Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

Venezuela is the second country after Nicaragua to follow Russia’s lead in recognizing the sovereignty of the two breakaway provinces within Georgia’s internationally acknowledged borders. The rest of the world views South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which rejected Georgian rule in the early 1990s, as integral regions of Georgia. The issue has become a point of contention in Russia’s relations with the West, with many Western nations accusing Russia of a de facto annexation of the two provinces. Chávez’s decision is a diplomatic success for Russia.

Chávez also cemented energy, trade and defense accords with Russian officials.

Top Kremlin official Sergei Prikhodko said about 10 agreements concerning energy issues, military and technical cooperation and financial topics have been prepared.

President Medvedev said, “We will supply Venezuela the weapons that Venezuela asks for … if our friends want our tanks, we will deliver them.”

Venezuela wants to bolster its military to resist what Chávez calls U.S. imperialism in Latin America. By assisting it, Russia furthers its campaign to oppose and undermine perceptions of U.S. global hegemony.

South Ossetia was at the heart of a brief war in 2008 between Russia and Georgia. Editor in chief Gerald Flurry said this conflict marked“the beginning of a dangerous new era in history.”

During one meeting, President Chávez urged Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to “speed up the creation of a new world.”

Chávez understands who is really at Russia’s helm, and he is anxious to help Putin establish “a new world” spinning on an axis of U.S. opposition.

An emboldened Russia has been fomenting anti-Americanism throughout the Latin American region for several years now. Russia has embarked on a campaign to undermine and oppose American interests—and that’s what the warming relationship between Russia and Venezuela is all about.