The leaders spoke over the phone on Thursday, highlighting their strategic partnership<\/p>\n
Russian President Vladimir Putin has backed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro amid the US military buildup in the Caribbean.
\nThe leaders highlighted the close ties between Moscow and Caracas during a phone call on Thursday. According to the Kremlin, Putin \u201cexpressed solidarity with the people of Venezuela and reaffirmed his support for the Maduro government\u2019s resolve to defend national interests and sovereignty against foreign pressure.\u201d
\nThe presidents reaffirmed their commitment to the strategic partnership treaty signed in May.
\nThe Venezuelan government said Putin and Maduro affirmed \u201cthe strategic, strong, and growing nature of bilateral relations.\u201d It added that the Russian leader backed Maduro\u2019s efforts to \u201cconsolidate peace, political stability, and economic development.\u201d<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
US seizes oil tanker off coast of Venezuela (VIDEO)<\/p>\n
The conversation took place after the US seized an oil tanker that left a Venezuelan port earlier this month. US Attorney General Pam Bondi said the vessel was previously sanctioned for allegedly transporting oil from Iran.
\nVenezuela called the operation an act of piracy and accused the US of seeking to \u201cplunder\u201d its natural resources.
\nThe US sent a naval armada to the Caribbean and has struck more than 20 alleged drug boats in international waters since September. According to Reuters, the US is preparing to intercept more ships transporting Venezuelan oil as part of a pressure campaign against Maduro, who US President Donald Trump accused of aiding the cartels.
\nMaduro has denied that his government has ties to drug trafficking and vowed to defend the country against a potential invasion. He called Washington\u2019s actions \u201ccolonialist\u201d and warned against starting \u201ca crazy war\u201d in the region.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The leaders spoke over the phone on Thursday, highlighting their strategic partnership Russian President Vladimir Putin has backed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro amid the US military buildup in the Caribbean.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24174,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24173","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t