A Russian warship left Panama Thursday after a historic five-day visit during which it crossed the Panama Canal for the first time since World War II and docked at a former US naval base, a Russian diplomat said.
The missile destroyer Admiral Chabanenko set sail from the Panama Canal into the Atlantic ocean after spending five days at the Rodman former US base in Panama's capital.
It was the first time a Russian warship had entered the canal since 1944, when the waterway was under US control and Russia and the United States were allied against Nazi Germany.
Russian ships were banned from the canal during the Cold War.
The destroyer was due to join the other ships in the Caribbean, the diplomat said.
Russian warships, including the Admiral Chabanenko, last week carried out two days of joint exercises with Venezuelan navy vessels, in what was seen as a pointed challenge by Moscow to traditional US influence in Latin America.
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