MOSCOW, November 8. /TASS/. Venezuela is grateful to Russia for the supply of the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, as it ensures the preservation of the health of the country’s population, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Felix Plasencia told a joint press conference following the talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on Monday.

"I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the Russian government and President Vladimir Putin for their support amid the pandemic and for Russian vaccines with which the Venezuelan people are vaccinated. We are very grateful that we have an opportunity to get our population vaccinated with Russian vaccines which guarantee the preservation of the health of our citizens."

The Venezuelan foreign minister described relations with Russia as "very successful" and recalled that his country "is an energy nation that has significant energy resources, hydro ones, fertile lands and young specialists."

"Our relations have great potential. Venezuela is the best ally, the best Russian partner in Latin America and the Caribbean. We can advance in a number of directions, including tourism where we have great potential as well as in the field of agriculture, pharmacology and the exchange of specialists," he stressed.

Before concluding Plasencia thanked Lavrov for accepting an invitation to pay a visit to Venezuela "in the near future".