Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro (left) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (right) during a previous encounter. Photo: AA/Murat Kaynak.
Caracas, June 7, 2022 (OrinocoTribune.com)—The President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, began his Eurasian tour on Tuesday, June 7, with his arrival in Ankara, capital of Turkey. It is expected that the international tour will take him to other countries in the region. Many analysts anticipate that Russia may be the next stop. Last year, the Venezuelan president said he would soon make an official visit to that country, the timing of which was likely affected by the Russian military operation in Ukraine launched on February 24.
In images broadcast by Venezuelan state television, President Maduro was received with his delegation by Turkish military and civil authorities. Many analysts highlighted the “interesting coincidence” that President Maduro arrived in Ankara almost in parallel with the visit of Russian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Sergey Lavrov.
“Brotherhood, cooperation, and union of our peoples,” wrote the Venezuelan president on his Twitter account, while sharing a video of his arrival at Ankara on a rainy day.
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Other press coverage highlighted that the presidential tour occurs after Venezuela was arbitrarily excluded by the US government, alongside Cuba and Nicaragua, from the 9th Summit of the Americas. These exclusions have created the conditions for many analysts to evaluate the summit as a diplomatic fiasco for Washington, and as another clear sign of the declining prestige of the US. Many Latin American and Caribbean heads of state boycotted the Summit as a sign of protest against the US’ divisive attitude towards the region.
#EnVivo 📹 | Llegamos a la hermosa ciudad de Ankara, Turquía. Hermandad, cooperación y unión de nuestros pueblos. https://t.co/9k2ge08yN9
— Nicolás Maduro (@NicolasMaduro) June 7, 2022
According to Turkish media, the country’s Presidential Directorate of Communications indicated that President Nicolás Maduro’s visit occurs in response to an invitation issued by his counterpart President Erdoğan.
“The President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro Moro, will make an official visit to our country on June 7-8, 2022, at the invitation of our President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan,” the statement said.
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It is expected that the meeting will review cooperation agreements between the two nations, and include discussions on regional and global issues. In April, both countries signed seven agreements during a visit to Venezuela by the Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu. At that meeting, President Maduro expressed his willingness to travel to Turkey on Erdogan’s invitation.
Caracas and Ankara have signed 20 bilateral agreements, including recent tourism deals covering 2022 to 2024.
This Monday, Venezuela’s National Assembly authorized the presidential tour under the framework of Article 187, Paragraph 17, that requires the president to have parliamentary approval when an international trip is longer that five consecutive days. For this reason, many analysts speculate that the next stop could be Russia. No additional information has been provided by Venezuelan authorities, perhaps due to security concerns related to the aggressive US approach towards the Chavista leader and constitutional president of Venezuela.
Special for Orinoco Tribune by staff
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