Chavez welcomes Ahmadinejad

September 18, 2006

President Chavez's embrace of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on a two-day visit that ends on Monday put him further at odds with the West and could alienate developing nations that welcome his anti-U.S. stances but worry about Iran's atomic ambitions. Chavez gave his support for a fellow OPEC country in the same week that he will go to the United Nations to lobby for a seat on the U.N. Security Council.