Venezuela’s Maduro ratifies ‘path of strong military cooperation’ with Russia

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro reiterated Wednesday (16) after a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov that his country is on the “path of strong military cooperation” with Russia.

“We have ratified the path of strong military cooperation between Russia and Venezuela in defense of peace, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and strong military cooperation,” the president said at the Miraflores Presidential Palace.

He said Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino had “precise instructions,” as did “all command personnel.”

“We will strengthen all plans to prepare, train and cooperate with a world military power like Russia. Our ties are deep and historic,” he stressed.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Riabkov did not rule out the establishment of military infrastructures in Cuba and Venezuela in an interview with Russian television station RTVI last January. “I do not want to confirm anything (…), nor to exclude anything,” the “number two” of Russian diplomacy affirmed.

After today’s meeting, neither Maduro nor Borissov commented on this formulation or its implications on the ground. The Venezuelan leader, on the other hand, reiterated that “another world is possible,” a “multipolar” and “multicentric” one in which there are no “hegemonic empires.”

“Russia has the full support of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in its struggle against the threat of NATO and the Western world,” he said. Russia has the full support of Venezuela to dispel all threats and for Russia to remain an area of peace,” he added.