Victory Day: Putin invited Maduro to Moscow on May 9th

The agreement on strategic partnership and cooperation between Russia and Venezuela has been fully agreed upon and can be signed during Nicolas Maduro's official visit to Russia, Vladimir Putin said in a conversation with his Latin American counterpart. The video call, timed to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, was the first official contact between the leaders since Maduro's inauguration in January 2025. Moscow and Caracas have close relations and more than 300 cooperation agreements. At the same time, Venezuela is experiencing a new wave of sanctions from the United States, which makes cooperation with Russia particularly important for it.

Putin and Maduro discuss strategic cooperation

On March 14, the 80th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Russia and Venezuela, Vladimir Putin had a video conversation with Nicolas Maduro. The focus was on the development of bilateral relations between the two countries.

— Nicholas, hello! — Vladimir Putin started a conversation with the Venezuelan leader.

This is the first direct contact between the leaders of Venezuela and Russia after the inauguration of Nicolas Maduro, which took place at the end of January this year.

"I am pleased to note that a Strategic Partnership and cooperation Agreement has been fully agreed upon, which will create a good, solid foundation for further expansion of multifaceted ties in the long term," Vladimir Putin said.

The Russian President also stressed that the parties will strive to continue to do everything possible to give an even closer and more comprehensive character to joint work in the trade, economic, technical, cultural and humanitarian spheres.

At the same time, Nicolas Maduro said that the positions of Moscow and Caracas coincide on many issues, and relations between the countries are based on mutual respect. The Venezuelan leader also conveyed congratulations to the Russians on the eve of the anniversary of victory in the Great Patriotic War and assured that he had given instructions to hold a wide celebration of this date in his country.

Vladimir Putin invited the Venezuelan leader to visit Moscow and take part in the celebrations on May 9. The Russian president said that a strategic partnership agreement could be signed during Nicolas Maduro's visit to Russia at any time convenient for him. The last time the head of Venezuela was in Russia in October 2024 at the Kazan BRICS summit, he also held personal talks with the Russian president.

Cooperation between Russia and Venezuela is based on more than 350 signed agreements in various fields — 17 of them were concluded in November last year and laid the foundation for cooperation until 2030. According to the Russian side, in the first eight months of 2024, the trade turnover between the two countries increased by 70% compared to the same period in 2023. Maduro also said at the end of last year that a "strategic alliance" had been established between Moscow and Caracas, and "Russian exports to Venezuela increased by 453% in 2024."

Last year, Russia began supplying Venezuela with high-tech goods (machine tools and equipment), as well as mineral products. In addition, the share of agricultural products sold to the republic from the Russian Federation has increased. According to the Russian Ministry of Economic Development, in the third quarter of that year, the Bolivarian Republic became the third importer of Russian wheat in the region. The fact that the countries have managed to establish a system of direct settlements, where some payments are already made in rubles, also contributes to the growth of trade turnover.

Venezuela is actually Russia's key partner in the Latin American region. Moscow and Caracas cooperate in the fields of oil production, gas field development, agriculture, medicine and pharmaceuticals. At the same time, the Russian Federation is one of the main suppliers of insulin to the Bolivarian Republic.

The countries are also actively cooperating in the military-technical sphere — Moscow is interested in fully meeting the needs of the Venezuelan Armed Forces in Russian-made weapons to ensure the country's security.

Venezuela is under pressure from the United States

Since the new administration came to power in the United States, the already difficult relations between Caracas and Washington have only become more tense. The United States considers Nicolas Maduro's stay in power illegitimate and did not recognize his victory in the last elections.

During the last presidential term of Donald Trump, the United States not only introduced a policy of "maximum pressure" on the Venezuelan elites, but also considered Juan Guaido the leader of the republic as president. Now, foreign experts believe that relations with Venezuela may become one of the main focuses of Trump's foreign policy in the western hemisphere.

The levers of US pressure on Venezuela have traditionally been sanctions against the oil and gas sector of the Bolivarian Republic. In his first term, Trump ordered to stop importing Venezuelan fuel. The restrictions were in effect for three years, until in 2022 Joe Biden granted permission to Chevron, the second largest American oil and gas company, to work in the Latin American state.

On February 26, Donald Trump announced the cancellation from March 1 of the exemptions that allowed American oil companies to individually obtain licenses for oil production in Venezuela. Later, the Republican pushed back the deadline to April 3, by which date American enterprises are required to complete any operations in the Latin American country.

Predictably, such a decision caused a lot of emotions in Caracas. Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said that by announcing sanctions, the United States is causing the main damage to its own companies and its citizens, not Venezuela.

Against the background of pressure from Washington, Caracas will seek to further strengthen contacts with its eastern allies, said Andrei Pyatakov, a leading researcher at the ILA RAS.

— Currently, he is actively looking for opportunities to expand international cooperation in the field of oil, and here the search is focused primarily on China, Turkey, India and Iran. For example, there are rumors that after the American Chevron corporation leaves Venezuela, China Petroleum may take its place. It is also possible to intensify cooperation with another major oil power in the region, Mexico, whose state—owned company Pemex has repeatedly offered its assistance to Venezuela in amortizing the effects of US sanctions, the expert comments.

Another controversial topic in relations between Venezuela and the United States is migration. From his first days in the White House, Donald Trump began taking action to get rid of illegal immigrants. In particular, the Republican signed a decree to end the parole humanitarian program, which allowed citizens of Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua and Haiti to legally stay in the United States for two years, work, and after that time legalize in a different status in order to stay in the country.

Now, according to foreign media sources, Trump is considering the possibility of imposing restrictions on entry to the country for certain nationalities. The blacklist is likely to include Venezuelans.

To help its citizens who are subject to deportation, Venezuela signed an agreement with the United States on March 13 to receive migrants. Earlier it became known that Caracas resumed flights in order to export its citizens who illegally entered the United States. On February 11, the first 190 migrants returned to the country.