https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-v...ists-to-venezuela-rebuffs-trump-idUKKCN1R911K
World News
March 28, 2019 / 6:00 PM / 7 days ago
Russia says it sent "specialists" to Venezuela, rebuffs Trump
Tom Balmforth, Maxim Rodionov
3 Min Read
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia said on Thursday it had sent “specialists” to Venezuela under a military cooperation deal but said they posed no threat to regional stability, brushing aside a call from U.S. President Donald Trump to remove all military personnel from the country.
A supporter waves a Venezuelan flag as she listens to the speech of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, who many nations have recognised as the country's rightful interim ruler, during a meeting with political leaders in Caracas, Venezuela, March 27, 2019. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins
Trump said on Wednesday that “all options” were open to make Russia pull troops out of Venezuela after two Russian air force planes landed outside Caracas on Saturday carrying nearly 100 Russian troops, according to media reports.
Related Coverage
As Venezuela has descended into political turmoil this year, Russia has emerged as a staunch backer of President Nicolas Maduro while the United States backs the country’s opposition and has imposed sanctions.
Venezuela’s military attache in Moscow said on Thursday Russia had sent “servicemen” to Venezuela, but that they would not take part in military operations, Interfax news agency reported.
“The presence of Russian servicemen in Venezuela is linked to the discussion of cooperation in the military-technical sphere,” Jose Rafael Torrealba Perez was quoted as saying.
Speaking at a weekly news briefing on Thursday, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova described the arrivals only as “Russian specialists”.
“Russia is not changing the balance of power in the region, Russia is not threatening anyone, unlike (officials) in Washington,” she told a weekly news briefing.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia’s specialists were in Venezuela to service pre-existing contracts for the supply of Russian arms.
He told reporters on a conference call that Russia was not interfering in Venezuela’s internal affairs and that the Kremlin hoped other countries would also allow Venezuelans to decide their own fate.
Russia and China have backed Maduro, while the United States and most other Western countries support opposition leader Juan Guaido.
U.S. stalls F-35 supplies to Turkey over dispute
In January, Guaido invoked the constitution to assume Venezuela’s interim presidency, arguing that Maduro’s 2018 re-election was illegitimate.
Maduro, who retains control of state functions and the country’s military, has said Guaido is a puppet of the United States.
Reporting by Maxim Rodionov; additional reporting by Polina Nikolskaya; Writing by Tom Balmforth; Editing by Gareth Jones
Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...in-venezuela-to-discuss-training-and-strategy
Venezuela
Russian military arrive in Venezuela to discuss 'training and strategy'
Arrival of up to 100 soldiers in Caracas signals Moscow’s support for embattled Maduro
Andrew Roth in Moscow
Mon 25 Mar 2019 16.55 GMT First published on Mon 25 Mar 2019 04.13 GMT
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A plane flying the Russian flag at Maiquetía airport in Caracas, Venezuela. Photograph: Carlos Jasso/Reuters
Russian military officials have arrived in Venezuela to discuss equipment maintenance, training and strategy, officials from both countries have said.
Images released of nearly 100 Russian soldiers arriving in Venezuela have reignited speculation about the level of Moscow’s support for the country’s embattled president, Nicolás Maduro.
The explanations by officials for the visit came after a Russian-flagged cargo plane and an airliner were spotted at Maiquetía airport outside Caracas guarded by a contingent of Venezuelan national guardsmen.
A Venezuelan official said the aircraft arrived this weekend as part of ongoing military cooperation between the two allies. An unnamed Russian official told the state news agency RIA Novosti that there was “nothing mysterious” in the visit.
Barter and dollars the new reality as Venezuela battles hyperinflation
Read more
In a phone call with his Russian counterpart, the US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, called on Russia to “cease its unconstructive behaviour” by supporting Maduro, the state department said on Monday.
The state department spokesman Robert Palladino said Pompeo had spoken to the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, about Venezuela. “The secretary told Russian foreign minister Lavrov that the United States and regional countries will not stand idly by as Russia exacerbates tensions in Venezuela,” Palladino said in a statement that also condemned Russian military support for the “illegitimate regime of Nicolás Maduro”.
Photographs of the planes attracted attention after news reports in January that Russian mercenaries had flown to the country to protect Maduro. Russia’s military has been accused of using its aircraft to provide logistics for private military companies, in particular for Wagner Group paramilitaries active in Syria.
Venezuela was for years one of the largest importers of Russian military technology and has Russian warplanes, anti-aircraft missiles and other weapons systems that require maintenance and training, Russian military experts said. The cargo plane may have been carrying spare parts.
“It would be wrong to suggest this is some kind of major deployment,” one person close to the Russian defence ministry told the Guardian.
Flightradar24, a flight-tracking site, showed the flight path on Saturday of what it listed as a Russian air force plane, apparently headed to Caracas while flying across the Caribbean.
Javier Mayorca, a Venezuelan journalist, tweeted that a Russian cargo plane with military equipment also arrived in Caracas on Saturday.
Before Monday, both planes, an Il-62 and an An-124, had made regular trips from a Moscow military airport to a Russian airbase in Syria.
Mayorca said about 100 Russian soldiers led by Gen Vasily Tonkoshkurov, head of the mobilisation directorate of Russia’s armed forces, disembarked along with about 35 tons of equipment.
A picture of a Russian-flagged aircraft posted on social media showed men in uniform clustered around it on the tarmac.
Russia backs Maduro, who has rejected demands from the US and dozens of other countries that he resign.
Russia and China are the main allies of Venezuela. Both have lent billions of dollars to the oil-rich South American country, propping up Maduro’s anti-US government.
Russia has also vocally opposed US moves to sanction Maduro and his government, and to recognise the opposition leader, Juan Guaidó, as Venezuela’s interim president.
US moves against Caracas have ratcheted up in recent weeks, with Donald Trump warning “all options” – implicitly including US military intervention – were being considered.
On 28 April, US sanctions are set to escalate with a ban on crude oil imports from Venezuela. The US is historically Venezuela’s biggest oil buyer, and that step is expected to severely crimp the Maduro government’s already diminished finances.
Venezuela opposition fears crackdown after Maduro threatens arrests
Read more
Russia has previously signalled its support for Maduro by sending two TU-160 bombers to Venezuela last December to take part in a military exercise.
Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, has a record of ordering his military – or paramilitary – forces into several theatres to challenge US strategies, notably in Syria and Ukraine.
Some Kremlin critics expressed concern that Russia could be planning to establish a base in Venezuela. Military experts said the airlift to begin preparations for a base would have to be far larger.
Any Russian foothold in Latin America, especially Venezuela, would alarm the US military. It would also be a political test for Trump, who has routinely avoided criticising Putin.
Agence France-Presse, Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
https://www.vox.com/2019/3/27/18283807/venezuela-russia-troops-trump-maduro-guaido
Why Russia just sent troops to Venezuela
Trump wants them out.
By Alex Ward@AlexWardVox[email protected] Mar 27, 2019, 12:50pm EDT
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/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/63309374/GettyImages_1071186650.0.jpg)
Russian Air Force personnel stand in front of a supersonic bomber aircraft upon landing at Maiquetia International Airport, just north of Caracas, on December 10, 2018. Federico Parra/AFP/Getty Images
Russia recently sent two military planes full of troops and equipment to Venezuela. It’s a move that could provoke a strong response from the United States and potentially plunge the South American nation into further chaos.
Around 100 Russians landed outside of Caracas, Venezuela’s capital, with unidentified equipment on Saturday. It’s not entirely clear why they’ve arrived now, although some fear they’ve come to help Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro fend off a US-led attempt to depose him. While Russia has in the past sent a few advisers to Venezuela, 100 is more than normal, CBS News reported.
Other experts and US government officials, though, say Russia is merely trying to protect diplomatic and other staff in Venezuela as well as perform maintenance on their military equipment in the country. In other words, the 100 or so Russians are in Venezuela to help themselves, not Maduro.
But US officials and experts remain vigilant, mainly because there’s a small fear that Moscow might intervene militarily in Venezuela’s crisis like it did in Syria.
Since January, the Trump administration, joined by governments in Latin America and Europe, has called for Maduro to step down, partly because the country has suffered from an economic collapse and humanitarian crisis during his rule. The US and others now recognize Guaidó, the leader of the country’s opposition-controlled legislative body, as Venezuela’s rightful president.
Russia didn’t take kindly to that. “Destructive interference from abroad blatantly violates basic norms of international law,” said Russian President Vladimir Putin (the same leader who orchestrated the annexation of Crimea) on January 24.
And while the Kremlin insists it has a right to send Russian troops to Venezuela, the US isn’t happy about it.
According to the State Department, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in a March 25 call that America “will not stand idly by as Russia exacerbates tensions in Venezuela.”
“The continued insertion of Russian military personnel to support [Maduro] risks prolonging the suffering of the Venezuelan people,” the call readout continued.
And on Wednesday, seated alongside Guaidó’s wife in the Oval Office, President Donald Trump said, “Russia has to get out” of Venezuela.
All of which raises the question: Why would Russia risk inciting US anger over Venezuela? It turns out there are two key reasons.
Russia has had ties to Venezuela for decades
The Trump administration says it’s trying to remove Maduro because of his horrid mismanagement of the country. Some critics believe the main reason, among others, is that Trump wants to make his fight against socialists a wedge issue in the 2020 presidential election.
The US focus on Venezuela, long a target of anti-socialists in the United States, has led it into a small-scale proxy war with Russia.
At first glance, it seems odd that Moscow, which recently has spent so much time trying to wield influence in Europe and the Middle East, cares so much about a Latin American country. But it turns out that Venezuela has been a top concern of Russia’s for decades.
The first reason is allying so closely with Venezuela gives it a firm foothold in the United States’ hemisphere. Russia, especially under Putin, has designs to become a top global player. Wielding a lot of influence in South America, then, is one way to do that and possibly curb Washington’s power in the process.
Russia built and maintained its friendship with Venezuela by getting close to the country’s socialist leadership, which has been in power since the 1990s. That makes the US-led effort to remove Maduro so troubling for Moscow: If Maduro leaves and Guaidó takes his place, then Venezuela may become more friendly with the US than with Russia.
“Were Venezuela ever to fall from the Russian orbit, it would be very painful for the Kremlin,” Vladimir Rouvinski, an expert on Russia-Venezuela relations at Colombia’s University of Cali, wrote in a February report for the Wilson Center in Washington. “Moscow is trying hard to prevent this from happening.”
The second reason is purely about economics. Venezuela has bought billions in Russian military equipment, to the point that nearly all of its modern-day arsenal comes from Russia. Moscow certainly doesn’t want to lose such a prominent customer.
But the real economic links center on oil.
Russia’s national oil company, Rosneft, has spent about $9 billion investing in Venezuelan oil projects since 2010, Reuters reported on March 14. It has yet to break even, and in fact is owed roughly about $3 billion from Venezuela.
What’s more, Rosneft owns two offshore gasfields in Venezuela and has a stake in around 20 million tons of crude there.
It’s why Igor Sechin, Rosneft’s chief and arguably Russia’s second-most-powerful man, cares so much about Venezuela. For example, last November he traveled to Caracas to meet with Maduro, mainly to complain about all his company is owed.
Between Russia’s worldwide aims and its economic interests in Venezuela, then, it’s no wonder it sent a few troops to the country to bolster Maduro and shows its resolve.
“Russia is now so deeply invested in the Maduro regime that the only realistic option is to double down,” Alexander Gabuev, an expert at the Carnegie Moscow Center, wrote in the Financial Times on February 3.
World News
March 28, 2019 / 6:00 PM / 7 days ago
Russia says it sent "specialists" to Venezuela, rebuffs Trump
Tom Balmforth, Maxim Rodionov
3 Min Read
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia said on Thursday it had sent “specialists” to Venezuela under a military cooperation deal but said they posed no threat to regional stability, brushing aside a call from U.S. President Donald Trump to remove all military personnel from the country.
A supporter waves a Venezuelan flag as she listens to the speech of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, who many nations have recognised as the country's rightful interim ruler, during a meeting with political leaders in Caracas, Venezuela, March 27, 2019. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins
Trump said on Wednesday that “all options” were open to make Russia pull troops out of Venezuela after two Russian air force planes landed outside Caracas on Saturday carrying nearly 100 Russian troops, according to media reports.
Related Coverage
As Venezuela has descended into political turmoil this year, Russia has emerged as a staunch backer of President Nicolas Maduro while the United States backs the country’s opposition and has imposed sanctions.
Venezuela’s military attache in Moscow said on Thursday Russia had sent “servicemen” to Venezuela, but that they would not take part in military operations, Interfax news agency reported.
“The presence of Russian servicemen in Venezuela is linked to the discussion of cooperation in the military-technical sphere,” Jose Rafael Torrealba Perez was quoted as saying.
Speaking at a weekly news briefing on Thursday, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova described the arrivals only as “Russian specialists”.
“Russia is not changing the balance of power in the region, Russia is not threatening anyone, unlike (officials) in Washington,” she told a weekly news briefing.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia’s specialists were in Venezuela to service pre-existing contracts for the supply of Russian arms.
He told reporters on a conference call that Russia was not interfering in Venezuela’s internal affairs and that the Kremlin hoped other countries would also allow Venezuelans to decide their own fate.
Russia and China have backed Maduro, while the United States and most other Western countries support opposition leader Juan Guaido.
U.S. stalls F-35 supplies to Turkey over dispute
In January, Guaido invoked the constitution to assume Venezuela’s interim presidency, arguing that Maduro’s 2018 re-election was illegitimate.
Maduro, who retains control of state functions and the country’s military, has said Guaido is a puppet of the United States.
Reporting by Maxim Rodionov; additional reporting by Polina Nikolskaya; Writing by Tom Balmforth; Editing by Gareth Jones
Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...in-venezuela-to-discuss-training-and-strategy
Venezuela
Russian military arrive in Venezuela to discuss 'training and strategy'
Arrival of up to 100 soldiers in Caracas signals Moscow’s support for embattled Maduro
Andrew Roth in Moscow
Mon 25 Mar 2019 16.55 GMT First published on Mon 25 Mar 2019 04.13 GMT
Shares
1,606
A plane flying the Russian flag at Maiquetía airport in Caracas, Venezuela. Photograph: Carlos Jasso/Reuters
Russian military officials have arrived in Venezuela to discuss equipment maintenance, training and strategy, officials from both countries have said.
Images released of nearly 100 Russian soldiers arriving in Venezuela have reignited speculation about the level of Moscow’s support for the country’s embattled president, Nicolás Maduro.
The explanations by officials for the visit came after a Russian-flagged cargo plane and an airliner were spotted at Maiquetía airport outside Caracas guarded by a contingent of Venezuelan national guardsmen.
A Venezuelan official said the aircraft arrived this weekend as part of ongoing military cooperation between the two allies. An unnamed Russian official told the state news agency RIA Novosti that there was “nothing mysterious” in the visit.
Barter and dollars the new reality as Venezuela battles hyperinflation
Read more
In a phone call with his Russian counterpart, the US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, called on Russia to “cease its unconstructive behaviour” by supporting Maduro, the state department said on Monday.
The state department spokesman Robert Palladino said Pompeo had spoken to the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, about Venezuela. “The secretary told Russian foreign minister Lavrov that the United States and regional countries will not stand idly by as Russia exacerbates tensions in Venezuela,” Palladino said in a statement that also condemned Russian military support for the “illegitimate regime of Nicolás Maduro”.
Photographs of the planes attracted attention after news reports in January that Russian mercenaries had flown to the country to protect Maduro. Russia’s military has been accused of using its aircraft to provide logistics for private military companies, in particular for Wagner Group paramilitaries active in Syria.
Venezuela was for years one of the largest importers of Russian military technology and has Russian warplanes, anti-aircraft missiles and other weapons systems that require maintenance and training, Russian military experts said. The cargo plane may have been carrying spare parts.
“It would be wrong to suggest this is some kind of major deployment,” one person close to the Russian defence ministry told the Guardian.
Flightradar24, a flight-tracking site, showed the flight path on Saturday of what it listed as a Russian air force plane, apparently headed to Caracas while flying across the Caribbean.
Javier Mayorca, a Venezuelan journalist, tweeted that a Russian cargo plane with military equipment also arrived in Caracas on Saturday.
Before Monday, both planes, an Il-62 and an An-124, had made regular trips from a Moscow military airport to a Russian airbase in Syria.
Mayorca said about 100 Russian soldiers led by Gen Vasily Tonkoshkurov, head of the mobilisation directorate of Russia’s armed forces, disembarked along with about 35 tons of equipment.
A picture of a Russian-flagged aircraft posted on social media showed men in uniform clustered around it on the tarmac.
Russia backs Maduro, who has rejected demands from the US and dozens of other countries that he resign.
Russia and China are the main allies of Venezuela. Both have lent billions of dollars to the oil-rich South American country, propping up Maduro’s anti-US government.
Russia has also vocally opposed US moves to sanction Maduro and his government, and to recognise the opposition leader, Juan Guaidó, as Venezuela’s interim president.
US moves against Caracas have ratcheted up in recent weeks, with Donald Trump warning “all options” – implicitly including US military intervention – were being considered.
On 28 April, US sanctions are set to escalate with a ban on crude oil imports from Venezuela. The US is historically Venezuela’s biggest oil buyer, and that step is expected to severely crimp the Maduro government’s already diminished finances.
Venezuela opposition fears crackdown after Maduro threatens arrests
Read more
Russia has previously signalled its support for Maduro by sending two TU-160 bombers to Venezuela last December to take part in a military exercise.
Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, has a record of ordering his military – or paramilitary – forces into several theatres to challenge US strategies, notably in Syria and Ukraine.
Some Kremlin critics expressed concern that Russia could be planning to establish a base in Venezuela. Military experts said the airlift to begin preparations for a base would have to be far larger.
Any Russian foothold in Latin America, especially Venezuela, would alarm the US military. It would also be a political test for Trump, who has routinely avoided criticising Putin.
Agence France-Presse, Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
https://www.vox.com/2019/3/27/18283807/venezuela-russia-troops-trump-maduro-guaido
Why Russia just sent troops to Venezuela
Trump wants them out.
By Alex Ward@AlexWardVox[email protected] Mar 27, 2019, 12:50pm EDT
Share
Russia recently sent two military planes full of troops and equipment to Venezuela. It’s a move that could provoke a strong response from the United States and potentially plunge the South American nation into further chaos.
Around 100 Russians landed outside of Caracas, Venezuela’s capital, with unidentified equipment on Saturday. It’s not entirely clear why they’ve arrived now, although some fear they’ve come to help Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro fend off a US-led attempt to depose him. While Russia has in the past sent a few advisers to Venezuela, 100 is more than normal, CBS News reported.
Other experts and US government officials, though, say Russia is merely trying to protect diplomatic and other staff in Venezuela as well as perform maintenance on their military equipment in the country. In other words, the 100 or so Russians are in Venezuela to help themselves, not Maduro.
But US officials and experts remain vigilant, mainly because there’s a small fear that Moscow might intervene militarily in Venezuela’s crisis like it did in Syria.
Since January, the Trump administration, joined by governments in Latin America and Europe, has called for Maduro to step down, partly because the country has suffered from an economic collapse and humanitarian crisis during his rule. The US and others now recognize Guaidó, the leader of the country’s opposition-controlled legislative body, as Venezuela’s rightful president.
Russia didn’t take kindly to that. “Destructive interference from abroad blatantly violates basic norms of international law,” said Russian President Vladimir Putin (the same leader who orchestrated the annexation of Crimea) on January 24.
And while the Kremlin insists it has a right to send Russian troops to Venezuela, the US isn’t happy about it.
According to the State Department, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in a March 25 call that America “will not stand idly by as Russia exacerbates tensions in Venezuela.”
“The continued insertion of Russian military personnel to support [Maduro] risks prolonging the suffering of the Venezuelan people,” the call readout continued.
And on Wednesday, seated alongside Guaidó’s wife in the Oval Office, President Donald Trump said, “Russia has to get out” of Venezuela.
All of which raises the question: Why would Russia risk inciting US anger over Venezuela? It turns out there are two key reasons.
Russia has had ties to Venezuela for decades
The Trump administration says it’s trying to remove Maduro because of his horrid mismanagement of the country. Some critics believe the main reason, among others, is that Trump wants to make his fight against socialists a wedge issue in the 2020 presidential election.
The US focus on Venezuela, long a target of anti-socialists in the United States, has led it into a small-scale proxy war with Russia.
At first glance, it seems odd that Moscow, which recently has spent so much time trying to wield influence in Europe and the Middle East, cares so much about a Latin American country. But it turns out that Venezuela has been a top concern of Russia’s for decades.
The first reason is allying so closely with Venezuela gives it a firm foothold in the United States’ hemisphere. Russia, especially under Putin, has designs to become a top global player. Wielding a lot of influence in South America, then, is one way to do that and possibly curb Washington’s power in the process.
Russia built and maintained its friendship with Venezuela by getting close to the country’s socialist leadership, which has been in power since the 1990s. That makes the US-led effort to remove Maduro so troubling for Moscow: If Maduro leaves and Guaidó takes his place, then Venezuela may become more friendly with the US than with Russia.
“Were Venezuela ever to fall from the Russian orbit, it would be very painful for the Kremlin,” Vladimir Rouvinski, an expert on Russia-Venezuela relations at Colombia’s University of Cali, wrote in a February report for the Wilson Center in Washington. “Moscow is trying hard to prevent this from happening.”
The second reason is purely about economics. Venezuela has bought billions in Russian military equipment, to the point that nearly all of its modern-day arsenal comes from Russia. Moscow certainly doesn’t want to lose such a prominent customer.
But the real economic links center on oil.
Russia’s national oil company, Rosneft, has spent about $9 billion investing in Venezuelan oil projects since 2010, Reuters reported on March 14. It has yet to break even, and in fact is owed roughly about $3 billion from Venezuela.
What’s more, Rosneft owns two offshore gasfields in Venezuela and has a stake in around 20 million tons of crude there.
It’s why Igor Sechin, Rosneft’s chief and arguably Russia’s second-most-powerful man, cares so much about Venezuela. For example, last November he traveled to Caracas to meet with Maduro, mainly to complain about all his company is owed.
Between Russia’s worldwide aims and its economic interests in Venezuela, then, it’s no wonder it sent a few troops to the country to bolster Maduro and shows its resolve.
“Russia is now so deeply invested in the Maduro regime that the only realistic option is to double down,” Alexander Gabuev, an expert at the Carnegie Moscow Center, wrote in the Financial Times on February 3.
