The Russian-Venezuelan intergovernmental commission will meet in 2021 in Caracas, the head of the Russian foreign ministry's Latin American department told Sputnik in an interview
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th January, 2021) The Russian-Venezuelan intergovernmental commission will meet in 2021 in Caracas, the head of the Russian foreign ministry's Latin American department told Sputnik in an interview.
"We are currently working on plans for bilateral contacts in 2021. Specifically, this year a regular meeting of the high-level Russian-Venezuelan intergovernmental commission will be held in Caracas, with a view to discuss an entire range of issues related to trade and economic cooperation between our countries, including in areas like energy, mining, transport, agriculture, medicine and pharmaceuticals," Alexander Shchetinin said.
According to the diplomat, Russia will continue to provide political support to legitimate Venezuelan authorities, and the pandemic has not hindered the bilateral dialogue.
He also commented on Venezuela's parliamentary elections, which did take place in December, despite "external political pressure."
Shchetinin noted that the Venezuelan authorities had done "everything possible to organize them in accordance with the highest standards of transparency, democracy as well as sanitary and epidemiological safety".
"A wide range of Venezuelan opposition parties ran in the elections. This gives grounds to expect that the renewed National Assembly will become a representative platform for a constructive dialogue between all political forces to resolve the problems facing the country and overcome the existing differences in the Venezuelan society as part of a peaceful negotiation process," he added.
Venezuela went to the polls on December 6. Boycotted by US-backed opposition leader Juan Guaido's bloc, the legislative elections were won by the alliance of socialist parties. The EU has said that the elections were neither free no fair. The United States and Canada have refused to recognize the results either.
