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NEW: Russia Tried To Buy Tear Gas And Riot Gear In Malta. Officials Suspect The Plan Was To Take The Items To Venezuela On A Warship. buzzfeednews.com/article/albert…
On March 28, Russia asked Malta for permission to allow a large Russian navy anti-submarine ship to dock on the island from April 23-26
Malta was planning to reject the request after learning from US officials that the ship was ultimately bound for Venezuela.
Malta was planning to reject the request after learning from US officials that the ship was ultimately bound for Venezuela.
A US official confirmed to BuzzFeed News that the assessment had been shared with Malta.
Russia withdrew the request late Tuesday.
Russia withdrew the request late Tuesday.
This new incident comes after Malta denied Russia permission to use its airspace to fly military aircraft to Venezuela from Syria this month buzzfeednews.com/article/albert…
We can also reveal that last week, Russian diplomats in Malta tried to buy gas canisters and riot gear in Malta.
Maltese officials suspect that the plan was to load these items on to the warship bound for Venezuela.
Maltese officials suspect that the plan was to load these items on to the warship bound for Venezuela.
This story comes amid growing concern among senior US and European government officials that Moscow is looking to boost its backing for Maduro in Venezuela, and, at the same time, is more aggressively asserting its presence in the Mediterranean, targeting Malta in particular. 
Full story: buzzfeednews.com/article/albert…
A small update: At a press conference today, the Russian government described Malta’s decision to close its airspace to Russian military planes bound for Venezuela — first reported by BuzzFeed News — as "not friendly"
US reaction to our story last week:
