MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Putin envoy wraps up Venezuela tour to strengthen “unshakable partnership”

Ryabkov does not understand why the economic crisis in Venezuela can become an obstacle to cooperation.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov completed a round of consultations with leader Nicolás Maduro and members of his staff during this past weekend in Caracas to strengthen the “unshakable partnership” with Venezuela, the Tass news agency reported.

“We discussed the schedule of future contacts,” Ryabkov explained after meeting with officials from the Miraflores Palace.

Asked about Maduro's next trip to Moscow, Ryabkov said that “naturally, a top-level meeting will give an impetus to progress in all areas, including in what concerns the legal framework.” He added that “we are working on a number of agreements,” but a specific date for a meeting between Maduro and Russian President Vladimir Putin is yet to be set.

“We have seen during bilateral contacts in Caracas that meaningful material work is not only about plans, intentions, expectations. It implies concrete deeds. I don’t understand why some media say that the economic crisis Venezuela is currently an obstacle to such cooperation,” Ryabkov noted.

“People work in any conditions. If it is mutually beneficial, a crisis may even have a stimulating effect. I see no contradiction. And we have all the grounds to hope that this work will be continued,” he added.

Ryabkov also pointed out that the bilateral agenda was “very positive” and that he had experienced “no negative effects of the current situation” while in the South American country.

The Russian diplomat also expressed his confidence in Maduro to overcome the difficulties the country is facing. “In this regard, the Venezuelan government has Russia’s full support.”

After meeting with Ryabkov on Saturday,
Maduro wrote on Twitter that “we talked about the importance of promoting cooperation and exchange in all domains in order to assist the development of our nations.”

Ryabkov said he also met with other senior Venezuelan officials to discuss increasing the presence of Russian companies in Venezula’s machine-building, mining and hydrocarbon extraction sectors. “We have also discussed all areas of our bilateral cooperation and initiatives in this sphere, including trade. Among other things, we discussed ways to expand the presence of Russian companies here in all economic sectors - machine-building, pharmaceutical industry, hydrocarbon extraction and mining,” he said.

“I think that all of this should be considered in the relevant context of creating efficient protection against the unilateral and unlawful coercive measures on the part of the United States, and this was also discussed during the meetings in Caracas,” the deputy minister added.