MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold talks with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Moscow on Wednesday and the two leaders will sign a strategic partnership agreement, the Kremlin said.
Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters it would be a “weighty, substantial and very important framework document”, without providing details.
Russia’s war in Ukraine has led to a breakdown in its relations with most Western states and prompted Moscow to strengthen ties with other countries that share its desire to counter the influence of what it calls the “collective West”, including the United States.
Since 2022, Russia has already signed strategic partnership pacts with China, North Korea and Iran.
Venezuela has a fraught recent history with the United States, marked by broken diplomatic relations, sanctions and accusations of criminal activity and coup-plotting.
During his visit to Moscow, Maduro is also due to attend commemorative events around the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet Union and its allies over Nazi Germany, including a military parade on Friday.
(Reporting by Reuters, Writing by Mark Trevelyan and Felix Light; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)
