MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday reaffirmed his support for Venezuela in a phone call with President Nicolas Maduro, the Kremlin said.
Maduro has been under pressure from US President Donald Trump to leave office, with the United States conducting a huge military build-up in the Caribbean.
Tensions escalated on Wednesday when the US seized an oil tanker off the Venezuelan coast, sparking furious outcry from Venezuela.
Russia has fostered warm ties with Venezuela, with Maduro earlier this year visiting Moscow, where he attended an annual military parade and signed a broad partnership agreement with Putin.
In a phone call on Thursday, “Vladimir Putin expressed solidarity with the Venezuelan people,” the Kremlin said in a read-out.
The Russian President had also “confirmed his support for the Maduro government’s policy aimed at protecting national interests and sovereignty in the face of growing external pressure”, the statement added.
The Kremlin said that Putin and Maduro had discussed a strategic partnership agreement and working together on several joint projects related to the economy and energy sector.
On Wednesday, the US military seized a Venezuelan oil tanker — troops rappelled onto the tanker’s deck from a helicopter and entered the ship with rifles raised.
Washington has accused Venezuela’s leader Nicolas Maduro of leading a drug cartel, which he denies. Maduro has said the US is seeking regime change because of Venezuela’s vast stores of oil.
US President Donald Trump has deployed warships within striking distance of Venezuela, and at least 87 people have been killed in at least 22 strikes on boats in the Eastern Pacific and the Caribbean Sea.
Maduro sends message to US
In a statement on Wednesday, President Maduro demanded that the United States end its interventions in his country.
“Stop the illegal and brutal intervention of the United States in Venezuela and Latin America. Enough of these endless wars, dammit. Enough of these imperial massacres,” he said.
“This homeland belongs to the noble, sovereign, and valiant people of Venezuela,” he added.
Maduro was commenting shortly before the US seized a large oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela.
On Thursday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov demanded that the administration of President Trump provide justification for its seizure of a Venezuelan oil tanker.
“I really hope that the United States, although they consider themselves entitled to conduct such operations, will somehow explain, out of respect for other members of the world community, what facts led them to take such actions,” Lavrov said, Russia’s Tass news agency reported on Thursday.
“There is too little information here because I do not know how the United States views the Venezuelan situation, except that President [Donald] Trump has spoken publicly demanding regime change or voluntary resignation of [Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro], but Chevron is operating in Venezuela, buying Venezuelan oil. What illegal volumes of this type of fuel were on this tanker—we need to get to the bottom of that somehow,” the Russian foreign minister said.
