Venezuela suffers from 'barbaric, predatory policies' of US, says Lavrov

Venezuela suffers from 'barbaric and predatory' policies of the US and its allies, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

Russia and Venezuela plan to take the necessary steps in response to the freezing of their assets in the West, he added.

On his visit to Venezuela, the Russian foreign minister reiterated his government's full backing of President Nicolas Maduro's administration.

"We have our own plans. Venezuela also has intentions to take some steps. So the exchange of experience in this area is very, very useful. We will seek justice. This is the main direction in which we work," Sergey Lavrov said during a press conference in Venezuela’s capital Caracas with his counterpart Yvan Gil.

Lavrov also held talks with the Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

Depth of cooperation

The Russian foreign minister emphasised Russia's dedication to fostering strategic partnerships with the South American country across various domains, including technology, energy, and culture.

Lavrov said that the seizing of a Boeing 747-300 plane belonging to Venezuelan company Emtrasur by the US on February 12 “fits into the mainstream of the corresponding policy.”

“In addition to the situation with the plane…Venezuelan money and state reserves, like Russian state reserves, are frozen in a number of Western countries. This is, of course, a gross and flagrant violation of both international law and the practice of conducting civilised relations in trade, investment and any other sphere,” he noted.

Gil defined the meeting with his Russian counterpart as productive, saying they will continue to work to strengthen relations between their two countries.

“Venezuela and Russia are two countries that are victims on the international stage of the illegal, irrational, illegitimate application of unilateral coercive measures,” Gil said, referring to economic sanctions.