Russian arms sales to Latin America increased by 900 percent in 2004-2008 as compared to the period 1999-2003, according to the new report on arms transfers issued by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

Most of the Russian sales in Latin America went to Venezuela which, in the period 2003-2008, was the eighteenth largest arms buyer in the world. Previous to 2003, it occupied only the 55th position.

In the period 2003-2008, Chile was the largest importer of conventional weapons in Latin America and the eleventh worldwide. China and India remained the largest arms importers in the world, with Russia as its main supplier. To India alone, however, the U.S. makes a record $2.1 billion arms sale.

The SIPRI report noted that sales of weapons around the world rose by 21 percent during the period 2003-2008 compared with the preceding five years. Sales to the Middle East increased considerably by 38 percent, in what was noted as a ‘significant rise in arms transfers to the Middle East.’ SIPRI also noted the accelerated arms deliveries to East Asia, the Caucasus, and Pakistan.

The United States once again topped the list of the biggest arms exporters in the world, with 31 percent of total sales, followed by Russia with 25 percent, and Germany with ten percent.

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Via defence Web