Red star with a caption that reads "Moscow, City of Heroes," as part of Moscow's decorations in preparation for the 80th Anniversary of the victory over Nazi-Germany. Photo: IZVESTIA/Dmitry Korotaev.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro arrived this Tuesday at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport. This marks the beginning of his official visit to the Russian Federation to participate in the activities to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War.
“We come to bring the always firm, courageous, and supportive greetings of the Venezuelan people, inspired by the spiritual strength of Simón Bolívar, of Hugo Chávez, our Supreme Commander, and of a people who are also fighting in the 21st century against Nazi-fascism and imperialism,” said the president.
Maduro emphasized the historical significance of the victory over Nazism: “The Soviet Union sacrificed 27 million human beings. It resisted in Moscow, Stalingrad, and Leningrad, and then millions of men and women reached Berlin to liberate Europe first and foremost. Europe has the Red Army and the Soviet Union to thank for it… It was the Red Army, the Soviet Union, that liberated them from Nazi-fascism. It liberated Europe. Then it discovered the concentration camps, where 6 million Jewish brothers and sisters died, and liberated them.”
“And by liberating Europe and liberating the Jewish people from the concentration camps,” President Maduro continued,” it freed humanity from the great Nazi-fascist threat and created the foundations of international law that led to the creation of the United Nations. Today, that international law and that multilateral structure are in crisis and are once again threatened.”
In this regard, the head of state emphasized that his arrival in Moscow reaffirms that humanity’s path must be one of peace, understanding, and respect for the equality of states. It is also an expression of infinite historical admiration for the Russian people and the peoples of the former Soviet Union for the immense contribution they made to humanity.
“We are here with the strength of the Venezuelan Bolivarian people, telling President Putin, the Russian people, and the peoples of the former Soviet Union: Venezuela is always standing firm here,” said the president.
Meeting between Maduro and Putin
This Wednesday, President Nicolás Maduro is scheduled to meet with his counterpart Vladimir Putin in Moscow and sign a strategic partnership agreement, according to statements issued by presidential advisor Yuri Ushakov to international news agencies.
Meetings will also be held in “large and small formats.”
It should be noted that Venezuela has signed several cooperation agreements with Russia, establishing a solid alliance. Ushakov asserted that Venezuela is a reliable partner for Russia in Latin America and the world in general. Given their deepening bilateral ties, the parties will sign an interstate agreement on strategic partnership and cooperation after negotiations in the Kremlin, he specified.
The document covers “virtually all the key issues on the agenda of bilateral relations,” Ushakov stated.
The previous meeting between Putin and Maduro took place in October 2024 in the Russian city of Kazan on the sidelines of a BRICS summit.
Maduro announced the meeting in March
It is worth noting that on March 14, the Venezuelan president announced the meeting with his Russian counterpart while stating that several cooperation agreements would be signed.
The announcement was made after a video call with Putin on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral relations between Russia and Venezuela, and President Maduro specified that ties with Russia are “at the highest level.”
In this regard, he noted that progress has been made in several areas by forging alliances with Moscow. “The economic, commercial, financial, banking, energy, industrial, public health, transportation, agriculture, information technology, science, education, culture, sports, among others,” President Maduro specified.
In this regard, Vladimir Putin stated during the conversation that “the establishment of relations in March 1945 allowed for political dialogue to expand trade and cultural ties, a stage of cooperation that was later deepened by Commander Hugo Chávez, who, thanks to his contribution, his brilliant ideas, and firm stance, achieved this significant advance in our relations.”
President Maduro’s stay in the Eurasian nation aims to deepen the alliances between Caracas and Moscow, a “strategic and cooperative partnership that will strengthen the foundations, in order to further expand multifaceted ties for the long term,” Maduro explained alongside his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on March 14 during a video conference.
(Últimas Noticias) by Carlos Eduardo Sánchez
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/KW/SL
