MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Maduro highlights latest agreements with Russia

Maduro also highlighted that his meeting with Putin “lasted two and a half hours”

Venezuelan ruler Nicolás Maduro underscored Monday that the historic “highest strategic level” treaty with Russia signed in Moscow during his visit to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Victory over Nazism as the result of a 24-year relationship between the two countries.

“The strategic treaty with Russia is of the highest level ever seen in our relations,” Maduro underlined. In his view, the treaty he signed with President Vladimir Putin marks a new era of deepened cooperation covering trade, energy, military-technical collaboration, satellite technology, the GLONASS system, and educational and cultural exchanges.

Maduro also announced plans to increase air connectivity given the growing presence of Russian tourists in Venezuela.

“Russia and Venezuela have signed a treaty of the highest level of strategic cooperation between the two countries. The first treaty of the highest strategic level that, we could say, we have signed, and which crowns 24 years of construction in all areas and in all fields of joint work,” he further noted during his “Con Maduro+” broadcast show.

Maduro also highlighted that his meeting with Putin “lasted two and a half hours” and talks included several topics. He also explained that there was a second meeting between high-ranking officials “fine-tuning the plan for the Venezuela-Russia air interconnection, because we have to achieve a daily interconnection with flights from Venezuela to Russia and from Russia to Venezuela,” with an increasing number of Russian visitors to places such as Margarita Island or Caracas, boosted by the so-called “MIR system card which is already used in Venezuela.” The Chavista head of State also pointed out that “these are the new monetary and payment systems that are emerging in the whole world.”

These days of bilateral meetings “mark a new beginning of greater depth and strategic height between Russia and Venezuela, between President Vladimir Putin and President Nicolás Maduro,” the Bolivarian leader argued.