MOSCOW, May 22. /TASS/. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has thanked his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for recognizing the outcome of the presidential election in the South American country.
"Strong ties of cooperation unite Venezuela with Russia. I thank President Vladimir Putin for recognizing our triumph. We will continue our joint work on building a multipolar world," Maduro wrote on Twitter.
On Monday, Putin congratulated Maduro on his reelection as Venezuelan president, the Kremlin press service said. In his congratulatory telegram, "Putin expressed confidence that Maduro’s activities as the head of state will promote the development of strategic partnership relations between the two countries," the press service said. The Russian president "reiterated readiness to continue Russia’s and Venezuela’s joint work on the bilateral and international agenda." "The Russian president wished Maduro good health and success in solving socio-economic tasks facing his country and promoting national dialogue in the interests of the Venezuelan people," the Kremlin said.
Venezuelans went to polling stations on Sunday to elect the president for a six-year term. Incumbent President Nicolas Maduro scored nearly 6.2 million votes while his closest rival, Henri Falcon of the Progressive Advance opposition party, managed to win 1.9 million votes. More than 20.5 million Venezuelans were eligible to vote. The voter turnout reached more than 46%
Before the results were announced, Henri Falcon refused to recognize them, accusing the authorities of vote buying. A number of countries, including the United States, Chile, Argentina and Spain, also slammed the election in Venezuela as illegitimate.