Maduro and Putin talk after Russian diplomat hints at military deployment

Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro said he spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday about increased cooperation between the two countries.

The call between the two leaders came a week after Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said he could “neither confirm nor exclude” the possibility of Russia sending military assets to Cuba and Venezuela if a diplomatic agreement over Ukraine is not reached, the AP reported. 

In a statement, Maduro said Putin “expressed all his multidimensional support and backing for the defense of the sovereignty and in pursuit of the development of” the South American nation.

The statement further described how both leaders spoke of the importance of increased trade between the two countries, the launch of an air service between Caracas and Moscow, and Russia’s provision of COVID-19 vaccines to Venezuelans.

“We exchanged on issues related to existing cooperation in various strategic areas at the highest level, a relationship that is strengthened by the unbreakable union of our peoples,” Maduro tweeted.

Ryabkov — who led the Russian delegation at the talks with the U.S. in Geneva earlier this month — previously spoke of the possibility of deploying military assets to his country’s two strongest allies in the Western Hemisphere.

U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan dismissed the comments as mere bluster, however.

When asked on Monday about the potential Russian missile deployment to the two Latin American countries, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that “Russia is thinking about how to ensure its security in the context of the current situation.”

When Hugo Chavez took power in 1998, the Kremlin saw an ally in the staunchly anti-American leader and has since then sold advanced weapons to Caracas and even sent troops and two Tu-160 bombers — capable of carrying nuclear weapons — to support the current Nicolas Maduro regime in Venezuela.

Moscow is presently one of Caracas’ only political allies and has helped the Maduro regime stay afloat as it has becoming increasingly isolated under economic sanctions imposed by the U.S. and the European Union.

Most Western countries do not consider Maduro’s 2018 presidential election valid, and many governments instead consider Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó as the country’s legitimate leader.