Russia, Venezuela pledge to continue strategic partnership

MOSCOW - Russian President Vladimir Putin and Venezuelan Acting President Nicolas Maduro pledged to further bilateral ties in a phone conversation, the Kremlin said Friday.

Extending his condolences and sympathy to the Venezuelan leadership and people over the death of President Hugo Chavez, Putin said he was convinced that the mutually beneficial cooperation and friendship between the two sides would develop further "in the interest and for the benefit of the two peoples," according to a Kremlin press statement.

For his turn, Maduro assured Putin of the continuity of bilateral strategic partnership, it said.

Earlier, the Kremlin said Igor Sechin, head of Russia's oil giant Rosneft, would attend Chavez's state funeral on behalf of the Kremlin, due to "his active role in bilateral cooperation in energy, banking and other spheres."