MOSCOW, May 29 /ITAR-TASS/. The Russian and Venezuelan Foreign Ministers, Sergei Lavrov and Elias Jaua, will discuss at a meeting in Moscow on Thursday issues of promoting bilateral political dialogue and cooperation in the international arena.
"The ministers will pay special attention to regional problems and the strengthening of Russian-Venezuelan interaction in multilateral organizations," Russian diplomats said.
They noted Venezuela's important significance for Latin America, expressing their "solidarity with the friendly people of that country and their firm support to the course pursued by Nicolas Maduro's government, aimed at preventing destabilization of the domestic political situation and organizing national dialogue in order to overcome the existing contradictions in the society in the Constitutional vein, without destructive interference from outside."
Venezuela is a major Russian partner in Latin America and in the international arena, and their bilateral cooperation is strategic.
"The two states calls for forming a more equitable multi-polar world order, based on the supremacy of international law with UN playing a major coordinating role in maintaining global peace and security," the Russian diplomats said. "Russia and Venezuela develop the productive practice of coordinating their positions within the UN framework and at other international organizations."
Acting in this way, Russia and Venezuela share the opinion about Ukrainian events and make consistent calls for settling the situation in Syria and around the Iranian nuclear programme solely through political and diplomatic methods and asserting truly democratic principles in international relations, including in the human rights area.
Moscow expressed an interest in developing trade and economic cooperation with Venezuela, including within the framework of such integration associations as the Community of Latin American and Caribbean states /CELAC/, the Common Market of the South /MERCOSUR/, the Union of South American Nations /UNASUR/ and the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America /ALBA/.
"We're welcoming the trend towards Latin America's increasing role and influence in international affairs, and intend to support it in all ways," a Russian Foreign Ministry official said.
Venezuela is Russia's second largest trade partner in Latin America after Brazil. Two-way trade was worth 2.45 billion dollars in 2013. Russia's Gazprom, Rosneft, LUKOIL, National Oil Consortium, INTER RAO UES and KAMAZ actively operate on the Venezuelan market.
Joint projects in the energy sphere make groundwork for investment cooperation, in the first place the development of oil and gas fields. Joint plans include practical efforts to develop offshore deposits, the construction of a thermal power plant with petroleum coke-fired boilers, and launching a joint venture to expand oil production at old fields.
The two countries successful develop military cooperation under intergovernmental accords and in strict compliance with the parties' international obligations and norms of international law.
Measures are taken to perfect the legal and contractual basis of Russian-Venezuelan relations. At present, more than two dozen joint documents are in the works, including intergovernmental accords on cooperation in prevention and elimination of emergency situations and cooperation in audio-visual sphere.
Humanitarian cooperation and educational and cultural contacts occupy a prominent place in bilateral relations. Student exchanges and contacts between scientists and artists of Russia and Venezuela help enhance mutual understanding and mutual good feelings between the two peoples.
"The upcoming talks pursuant to the development of intensive high and top-level contacts between the two countries are expected to give a new impulse to the whole complex of Russian-Venezuela ties in the context of securing succession of strategic partnership relations that developed with active personal involvement of Commandant Hugo Chavez, who was a big and sincere friend of Russia," the Russian Foreign Ministry said. "It is important that the incumbent Venezuelan leadership confirms the commitment towards intensifying and expanding them in all ways.