Russia is preparing to welcome Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro on an official visit soon, the Kremlin said on Tuesday, as the oil-producing countries Russia and Venezuela continue to maintain close ties in defiance of the Western powers.
Maduro's visit is in the works, with the dates currently being discussed, Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in Moscow on Tuesday.
"Yes, it [the visit] is being prepared," Peskov said, as quoted by Russian news agency TASS.
Russia and Venezuela are currently discussing the dates that would be cleared in Maduro and Putin's schedules, the Kremlin spokesman added.
Maduro has recently said that he would soon visit Russia and expressed solidarity with the Russian people and president Putin, TASS noted.
Talk of a Maduro visit to Russia first emerged in the autumn of 2023, when Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said that Russia expected to welcome Maduro on a visit as part of the expanding Russia-Venezuela ties, including in the energy sector.
"We expect the president of Venezuela to visit Russia per the invitation extended to him," Novak, Russia's top oil official, said in October, as carried by Russian news agency TASS.
In October 2023, Novak welcomed Venezuelan officials to discuss cooperation in oil and gas projects and to prepare for Maduro's visit, according to TASS.
Novak also said at the time that the Venezuela-Russia joint ventures in Venezuela were exceeding by 16% their crude oil production targets for 2023.
Overall trade between Russia and Venezuela jumped by 70% between January and July 2023 and has surged by 77% over the past five years, according to the Russian deputy prime minister.
In December, Peskov said that Maduro's visit to Russia would not take place before the end of 2023, however, it remained on the agenda and its dates were being agreed upon.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
Charles is a writer for Oilprice.com More