UPDATE 3-Russia trumpets ties with Venezuela's Chavez

(Recasts, adds Chavez's news conference, pvs Meiendorf Castle)

By Oleg Shchedrov and Chris Baldwin

MOSCOW, July 22 (Reuters) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday hailed closer ties with Venezuelan socialist leader Hugo Chavez, overseeing energy deals bringing the two key oil producers and rivals of the United States closer together.

Upbeat after the cordial reception, Chavez declared, albeit hypothetically, that Russia would be welcome to deploy a military base in his country, if it asked for such.

"If Russia's armed forces want to be present in Venezuela, they will be given a warm welcome," Chavez told a news conference in response to a question. The idea did not, however, seem to have been on his Moscow agenda.

Chavez, who met Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, said he had felt "strong human warmth" while meeting Medvedev and "personal chemistry immediately appeared between us".

"We are already big and good friends," he said.

"We are considering issues linked to our strategic partnership, be it in the energy sector, industry, finance, science and technology, or military issues," Chavez said.

Earlier on Tuesday, Medvedev and Chavez oversaw four deals between Russian oil companies and Venezuela's state energy firm PDVSA. These allow the Russians to develop new deposits in the South American country and pave the way for big infrastructure and engineering projects. Values were not disclosed.