Russian FM Lavrov visits Venezuela, offers support

CARACAS — Russia and Venezuela reviewed some of the bilateral agreements covering the financial, energy, agricultural and other sectors during discussions between their top diplomats and other high-level officials on Tuesday in the South American country.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Venezuelan counterpart Yvan Gil held a joint news conference in Caracas hours after Lavrov arrived in the country on the second stop of a tour of four Latin American nations. Both sides vowed continued support for each other's country and condemned the economic sanctions Washington has imposed on them.

"We fully support the position of our Venezuelan friends. It is their country … and we are going to support it in any way, so that the Venezuelan economy becomes an independent economy from the pressures of the United States and other Western actors," Lavrov said.

Gil and Lavrov said their countries are developing an alternative to SWIFT, the system that enables global financial transactions, but to which key Russian banks lost access last year. Those banks were cut off as part of economic sanctions imposed on Russia at the start of its conflict with Ukraine last year.

US sanctions have cost Venezuela some $232 billion in losses, Gil said during the 52nd regular session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in February. The sanctions imposed by the US are "a crime against humanity" and were denounced three years ago by Venezuelan authorities at the International Criminal Court, Gil said.

Officials reviewed some of the hundreds of agreements between both countries covering the financial, energy, agricultural and other sectors.

Lavrov also met with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who afterward tweeted that it was a "pleasant meeting that strengthened bilateral relations".

Russia and Venezuela announced that they have signed agreements regarding oil and mining.

Lavrov began his tour of Latin America on Monday with a stop in Brazil. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva met with Lavrov in the capital Brasilia.

Lavrov said Russia was "grateful to our Brazilian friends" for their clear understanding of the situation. "We are grateful for their desire to contribute to finding ways of settling this situation," Lavrov said.

Lula has proposed creating a group of countries to mediate the conflict.

Lavrov will later travel to Cuba. Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel visited Russia in November. Lavrov is expected to make a final stop in Nicaragua.

Agencies - Xinhua