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Venezuelan vice president says discusses bilateral, global issues with Lavrov

The high-ranking official castigated the US sanctions as "illegal"

Venezuelan Executive Vice President Delcy Rodriguez Alexandr Sherbak/TASS

Venezuelan Executive Vice President Delcy Rodriguez

© Alexandr Sherbak/TASS

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MOSCOW, August 21. /TASS/. Venezuelan Executive Vice President Delcy Rodriguez discussed bilateral cooperation and global issues with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow on Wednesday, as she herself wrote on Twitter.

"I have had a wonderful meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. We discussed our wide-ranging cooperation and the global agenda, including ways to protect the UN Charter. We, Venezuela and Russia, reject any kind of [foreign] interference," the tweet reads.

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, Sergey Lavrov and Delcy Rodriguez also confirmed their commitment to developing military-technical cooperation between the two countries.

"They have had a substantive discussion of bilateral issues, lining out practical steps on increasing Russian-Venezuelan strategic cooperation," the ministry informed. "They have reaffirmed their commitment to continue joint efforts on projects in the sphere of economy, science, advanced technology, culture, and military-technical cooperation."

The ministry noted that the situation in Venezuela was the main issue discussed during the talks. "The Russian side has expressed solidarity with the friendly people and government of this country, along with the firm support of the policy excluding destructive interference in the regulation of the situation," the Russian Foreign Ministry added. "We have stressed the importance of finding political solutions to internal disputes in Venezuela based on national dialogue and strictly within the constitutional framework."

Washington’s illegal sanctions have created new opportunities for cooperation between Caracas and Moscow, Delcy Rodriguez said at the meeting with the Russian foreign minister.

"Illegal sanctions imposed on our countries have created great opportunities [for Venezuela and Russia] to boost cooperation," she said.

Rodriguez is currently on a working visit to Russia. The Venezuelan delegation also includes Economy and Finance Minister Simon Zerpa, Deputy Foreign Minister Ivan Gil and Central Bank Vice President Sohail Hernandez. On Monday, Rodriguez held a meeting with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov. The parties discussed economic issues.

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