Sputnik-Latin America
The situation in Venezuela has been tense since January following the eruption of anti-government protests, fueled by opposition leader Juan Guaido’s proclamation as the nation’s interim president.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov has told journalists on Friday that Moscow is determined to counter any internal or external attempts to destabilise the situation in Venezuela. The official stressed that the United States keeps on devising ways to further destabilise the situation in the country. However, he noted that their efforts fail due to the public support for the legitimately elected authorities.
Ryabkov also underlined that Moscow will continue to boost the potential of the Venezuelan Armed Forces.
“We will certainly take measures under the existing agreements, which will help strengthen the potential of that country’s Armed Forces”, Ryabkov told reporters.
Ryabkov underlined that the focus will be placed on the equipment sent to Venezuela, once again dismissing speculations that Russia has military personnel deployed in the Latin American country.
Venezuela has been plagued by political instability since January when US-backed opposition leader and head of the National Assembly Juan Guaido proclaimed himself interim president in a bid to replace incumbent president Nicolas Maduro.
The United States and its allies, including a number of EU nations, immediately recognised Guaido, while Russia, China, Cuba, Bolivia, Turkey, among others, voiced their support for Maduro as the country’s only legitimate president.
Russia has underlined several times that the presence of Russian military experts in Venezuela is completely legitimate. The specialists are in the country to train technicians and work on repair and maintenance of weapons systems, previously sent to Venezuela under bilateral defence industry cooperation agreements.
Russia’s Presence in Venezuela Helped Scale Down US Aggression
LA PAZ, Bolivia (Sputnik) – Russia’s presence in Venezuela helped scale down US aggression, according to the head of the Bolivian presidential administration, Juan Ramon Quintana.
“I would say that Russia is playing a role of a geopolitical mediator in Latin America. We think that we can find a balanced framework for the relationships in the region, with Russia and China. I think the most important example at the moment is the Russian-Venezuelan relationship. Russia’s very presence in Venezuela helped diminish US aggression regarding their intention to destroy Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela”, Quintana said.
Venezuela has been embroiled in a serious political crisis since January when US-backed opposition leader and head of the National Assembly Juan Guaido proclaimed himself interim president in a bid to replace incumbent president, Nicolas Maduro.
The United States and its allies, including a number of EU nations, immediately recognised Guaido, while Russia, China, Cuba, Bolivia, Turkey among others voiced their support for Maduro as the country’s only legitimate president.
In April, the Russian Embassy in Venezuela said that Russian military specialists were in the country to train technicians and work on repair and maintenance of weapons systems, which were previously sent to Venezuela under bilateral defence industry cooperation agreements. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, in turn, said that the presence of Russian military experts in Venezuela was completely legitimate.
