Russia ‘reaffirms unwavering solidarity with the people and government of Venezuela’
Russia’s foreign ministry has welcomed efforts made by authorities in Venezuela to “protect state sovereignty and national interests”.
In a statement on X, it said: “We reaffirm Russia’s unwavering solidarity with the people and Government of Venezuela.”
“We wish success to the interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, in addressing the tasks facing the Bolivarian Republic,” the statement added.
The Russian statement continued: “For our part, we express our readiness to continue providing the necessary support to friendly Venezuela.
“We firmly advocate that Venezuela must be guaranteed the right to determine its own destiny without any kind of destructive interference from abroad.”
The Russian foreign ministry called for “de-escalation of the current situation” and for using diplomacy to resolve existing issues.
For context: Russia’s diplomatic intervention follows the American raid which led to Venezuela’s president, Nicolas Maduro, being seized and brought to New York to face trial on allegations of being involved in the supply of illegal drugs to the US.
There have been reports today that a Russian submarine is escorting a Venezuelan tanker, which the US tried to board recently (see more in our 7.43 post).
But despite the Kremlin’s protests about interference in Venezuela, Russia has acted abroad itself – most notably by invading Ukraine in 2022. Russian forces currently occupy one-fifth of Ukrainian territory.