Russia, Venezuela affirm partnership amid global crude glut
January 16, 2015
In Thursday's talks at the Kremlin, "the situation on the world oil markets was discussed in detail," Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told Russia's Interfax news agency. No details, however, of those detailed discussions were released.
Putin and Maduro "spoke in favor of intensifying joint projects in various areas, including energy," Peskov said.
A major global crude producer, Venezuela has suffered from the sharp decline in oil prices, as has Russia. With it national budget under strain, Caracas has said it is willing to cut oil production to support a hike in the worldwide price.
Over the weekend, Maduro had visited Saudi Arabia, the world's largest crude exporter, to discuss crude prices. Over the past few weeks, the socialist leader has also visited China, Venezuela's largest investor and second-largest oil customer.
Putin called Venezuela a "very close partner, one of our leading partners in Latin America," the Kremlin said in a statement.
Maduro in turn was quoted by the Kremlin as confirming Venezuela's "solidarity with the Russian people."
"We want to confirm our solidarity with the Russian people and our deep faith in your ability to move forward and cope with this situation," Maduro reportedly told Putin.
glb/rc (AFP, Reuters, dpa)