CARACAS, February 20. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will arrive in Venezuela on Tuesday within his Latin American working trip, which started with a visit to Cuba one day earlier. The Minister will have a busy schedule in Caracas: in addition to the talks with his Venezuelan counterpart Yvan Gil Pinto, he is also expected to meet with President Nicholas Maduro and Executive Vice President Delcy Rodriguez.

Venezuela, like Russia, prepares to hold presidential elections this year, which the West will try to take advantage of in order to influence the domestic political situation in both countries. Moscow and Caracas also experience colossal sanctions pressure from Western states. It is possible that countering these attempts to interfere in internal affairs and joint combating the illegal restrictions will be among priority topics.

According to Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, Lavrov’s talks with the Venezuelan leadership will involve the perspectives of development of the Russian-Venezuelan strategic partnership, as well as the coordination within the UN and at other multilateral platforms. The sides will also exchange opinion on the key issues of international and regional agenda. These will likely include the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the Middle East, and, notably, Moscow and Caracas view these stories from similar viewpoints.