Geneva, Switzerland (Sputnik) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with his Venezuelan counterpart Jorge Arreaza in Geneva.
The meeting was held behind closed doors.
Lavrov intervened earlier in a conference on disarmament and participated in the session of the Human Rights Council of the United Nations.
As reported by the Russian Foreign Ministry in a statement, during their meeting on the margins of the 43rd session of the UN Human Rights Council, Lavrov and Arreaza examined the situation in Venezuela and assessed the impact of the sanctions.
“The parties reviewed the main issues on the bilateral agenda and stressed the importance of finding political solutions to the contradictions that exist in Venezuela, and also denounced the pernicious influence of unilateral sanctions on the humanitarian and social situation in the Caribbean country,” the note says.
The Russian and Venezuelan foreign ministers also highlighted the high level of cooperation of their countries in international organizations – particularly in the UN Human Rights Council – and pointed out the inadmissibility of politicizing the human rights movement.
Meanwhile, the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry said both diplomats met to boost bilateral relations.
“Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza held a cordial and fruitful meeting with his counterpart from the Russian Federation Russian Sergey Lavrov, to continue deepening bilateral cooperation,” Venezuelan ministry posted on its Twitter account.
#VIDEO | Canciller Jorge Arreaza sostuvo un cordial y fructuoso encuentro con su homólogo de la Federación de Rusia 🇷🇺 Serguéi Lavrov, para continuar profundizando la cooperación bilateral.#RetornoSeguro2020 pic.twitter.com/QSPTBNG0Bt
— Cancillería Venezuela 🇻🇪 (@CancilleriaVE) February 25, 2020
The Russian Foreign Minister said his country “is willing to provide its full support” to the work of the Dialogue Table, which includes the government of President Nicolás Maduro and an opposition sector, according to the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry.
Lavrov visited Venezuela on February 7, where he met, in addition to Arreaza, with Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez and President Nicolás Maduro.
#FOTOS | Canciller Jorge Arreaza sostuvo un cordial y fructuoso encuentro con su homólogo de la Federación de Rusia 🇷🇺 Serguéi Lavrov, en el marco de la 43 Sesión Ordinaria del Consejo de Derechos Humanos en Ginebra.#RetornoSeguro2020 pic.twitter.com/G2JwCsyPOq
— Cancillería Venezuela 🇻🇪 (@CancilleriaVE) February 25, 2020
Venezuela has faced a political crisis since the beginning of last year, when the opposition figure Juan Guaidó proclaimed himself interim president in an attempt to expel Maduro from power.
Several US-led Western countries somehow recognize Guaidó, while China, Russia, Turkey and the majority of UN states continue to support Nicolás Maduro, who called Guaidó’s self-proclamation an attempted coup d’etat.
For Maduro, Guaidó is a US puppet.
On February 6, Washington threatened to impose more sanctions on Caracas.
Featured image: Sergey Lavrov and Jorge Arreaza after the meeting in Geneva. © Sputnik / Evgeny Odinokov
Source URL: Mundo Sputnik with OT content
Translated and edited by JRE/EF
