Russia closely monitoring developments in Venezuela: Kremlin

ISTANBUL

The Kremlin said that Moscow is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela amid reports that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro requested radars and aircraft, and possibly missiles, from his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.

On Friday, The Washington Post, citing internal US government documents obtained by the daily newspaper, reported that Maduro reached out to Putin through a letter “requesting defensive radars, aircraft repairs and potentially missiles” intended to be delivered during a visit to Moscow by a senior aide last month.

The report added that the documents also contained information on a letter for Chinese President Xi Jinping, which it said sought “expanded military cooperation” between the two countries to counter “the escalation between the US and Venezuela.”

“We are watching very closely what is happening in Venezuela,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian state news agency Tass early Sunday, adding that Moscow is maintaining contacts with Caracas as the countries are bound by various treaty obligations.

“Of course, we want everything to remain peaceful and for no new conflicts to arise in the region. The world is already full of conflicts. New conflicts are not needed,” he added, commenting on the rising tensions between the US and Venezuela.

Washington has carried out more than a dozen strikes on what it said are drug-trafficking vessels leaving Venezuelan waters, killing at least 61 people since September. The US has not publicly provided evidence to support its drug-trafficking claims, while Maduro has rejected the allegations.