In Venezuela, Lavrov will meet Maduro as well as Executive Vice President Delcy Rodriguez and Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will visit Venezuela on Friday in a show of support for President Nicolas Maduro, a socialist who Washington wants out of power.
Russia has helped Maduro weather a political crisis as the United States has targeted Caracas with sanctions and, like dozens of other countries, recognizes opposition politician Juan Guaido as Venezuela’s legitimate interim leader, Reuters said.
Moscow has denounced the U.S. sanctions as illegal and damaging, while Venezuela’s opposition has urged Washington to step up pressure on Russia for its economic, diplomatic and military support of Maduro.
Lavrov, foreign minister since 2004, flies to Latin America on Wednesday, stopping in Cuba before heading to Mexico on Thursday and Venezuela the next day.
His trip follows a tour by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo of four former Soviet states – Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan – in a region that Moscow sees as its backyard.
In Venezuela, Lavrov will meet Maduro as well as Executive Vice President Delcy Rodriguez and Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza for talks that will broach deeper cooperation on energy, mining, transport, agriculture and defense, Russia’s foreign ministry said.
“The agenda includes a discussion of steps … to counteract illegal unilateral sanctions that worsen the socioeconomic situation in Venezuela,” ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
The United States last year ratcheted up diplomatic pressure on Venezuela and imposed sanctions on the OPEC member’s state oil company, PDVSA.
(c) Unian
Counteract with what? With the crisis in China resulting in the price of oil dropping like a stone, and the unusually warm weather in Europe this winter, resulting in Gazprom pumping less gas than ever, I think Lavrov will be going to Venezuela to ask them for a loan.
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It was a temperature record set in Oslo, +2.8 degrees in January! On new years eve we always had between -20 and -30 degrees when I was younger, this year we had +3 degrees. Venezuela could have been a rich country with all their oil reserves, now they are a failed state like Russia.
“Venezuela holds 299,953,000,000 barrels of proven oil reserves as of 2016, ranking 1st in the world and accounting for about 18.2% of the world’s total oil reserves of 1,650,585,140,000 barrels. Venezuela has proven reserves equivalent to 1,374.2 times its annual consumption.”
Same here, usually get temperatures well into the minus this time of year. We have not even had any proper snow yet. Venezuela are like any other country associated with Russia, rotten to the core. Any mineral wealth goes straight into the pockets of a select few, the rest of the country lives in shit.
“The Myth of Scandinavian Socialism” I was looking at this video today, and found it very interesting.
Socialism? Last time we visited Sweden there were new Mosques everywhere. Who pays for these and why? Imagine we would do the same in Turkey, they would stone us. 😡
Very interesting, and it’s no coincidence that the Scandinavian countries have some of the highest standards of living in the world, which would never happen under socialism.
Counter US sanctions? How???
At any rate, let the mafiosos support this semi-communist country all it wants. I would not begrudge the Ruskies as many ball-and-chains as possible.
The Moskali are trying to blame the sanctions instead of the Socialism.
The plan?
“…deeper cooperation on energy, mining, transport, agriculture and defense, Russia’s foreign ministry said.”
In other words, we will take your oil, your gas, your gold and your food. Then we will provide you with Ladas and bombs.