Venezuela is a strategic partner of Russia in Latin America; Maduro ratifies military cooperation

CARACAS (Reuters) - Russian Deputy Prime MinisterYuri Borisov, visiting Venezuela, said on Wednesday that the South American nation is a key ally of Moscow in Latin America and that they seek to deepen bilateral cooperation.

Borisov, who had already arrived in Caracas in March 2021 and in May 2019, met with Nicolás Maduro and the vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, in the government palace.

Maduro said that at the meeting they had "reviewed the powerful military cooperation" between the two countries, but did not give details except that it was cooperation "for the defense of peace, of sovereignty."

"We are going to increase all training and cooperation plans," Maduro said in a statement broadcast on state television.

The Venezuelan leader also showed his support for Moscow "to dispel all NATO threats."

The official television station said, when releasing images of the meeting with Maduro, that the Russian delegateI was planning to travel after Caracas to Nicaragua and Cuba.

But earlier and after meeting with the Minister of Oil, Tareck El Aissami, the senior Russian official said that "Venezuela is a strategic partner of Russia in Latin America. We highly value the character of allies in our coordination in the international arena and dialogue of trust at the political level".

"Venezuela's leaders have managed to stabilize economic activity, guaranteeing the increase in oil production and the fight to achieve sustainable development goals. We will continue to provide support in this regard," Borisov added, quoted in Spanish by the state oil company Petróleos de Venezuela. (PDVSA), on its Instagram account.

In his previous visit, the Russian official only reported that his country supplied Venezuela with a thousand doses of the EpiVacCorona vaccine against COVID-19.

Borisov's arrival comes after several senior leaders, such as the president of Argentina, Alberto Fernández and that of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro; were received in Moscow by President Vladimir Putin, causing some analysts to point out that the Russian leader is politically courting the region amid tensions over a possible invasion of Ukraine.

Last week and after meeting with the Russian ambassador in Bogotá, Nikolay Tavdumadze, the chancellor and vice president of Colombia, Marta Lucía Ramírez; He said that Russia has promised that military equipment delivered to Venezuela will not be used to attack Colombia.

(Report by Vivian Sequera in Caracas. Edited by Deisy Buitrago)