Russia calls on the US to avoid making ‘fatal mistakes’ in Venezuela

“We hope that the administration of President Donald Trump will not let fatal mistakes occur, as well as exercise restraint to avoid falling into a situation that leads to unpredictable consequences for the entire Western Hemisphere,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said on December 18, while calling on regional parties to de-escalate tensions.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on the same day confirmed that Russia is in regular contact with Venezuela, an ally and partner of Moscow. “We call on all countries in the region to exercise restraint to avoid any unpredictable developments in the current situation,” he said.

Russia is a longtime ally of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his predecessor Hugo Chavez, with links in the oil industry and military. Venezuela is a country that imports and staffs many modern Russian weapons, including Su-30MKV fighters and the S-300VM long-range air defense complex.

Russian officials commented after President Trump on December 16 announced that the largest fleet ever present in Latin America “is completely surrounding Venezuela”. Mr. Trump also ordered a “complete and absolute blockade” of sanctioned oil vessels, prohibiting these vehicles from entering or leaving Venezuela.

The Venezuelan government then issued a statement expressing indignation at President Trump’s statement, saying that this was an “unreasonable maritime blockade aimed at depriving Venezuela of assets” and affirming that crude oil exports were not affected by this announcement.

It is unclear how the US will blockade Venezuela. US media quoted sources familiar with the issue as saying that on December 16-17, Venezuela deployed warships to escort three ships carrying urea, coke, oil and petroleum products departing from Jose port to Asia.

The Trump administration has continuously increased pressure on President Maduro in recent months, deploying many military assets to the region under the pretext of conducting anti-drug missions.

US forces near Venezuela currently include the Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier battle group, at least 8 surface ships, a special operations ship, an attack submarine, F-35 stealth fighters, AC-130 attack aircraft, transport aircraft, drones, electronic warfare aircraft, rescue aircraft and more than 15,000 soldiers.

Mr. Maduro said that the move to mobilize forces shows that the US intends to change the regime in Venezuela and control the country’s oil reserves.

In a phone call on December 11, Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed support for the policies of his counterpart Maduro. The two sides also reaffirmed their commitment to implementing cooperative projects in economics, energy, trade, culture and humanity.