Vladimir Putin is desperately trying to bolster his number of allies, as the war in Ukraine continues to rage and confrontation with the West heats up.
The Russian leader has relied heavily on the support of Iran, China and North Korea, ever since invading Ukraine in February 2022.
The countries have provided the isolated Kremlin boss with valuable political support, as well as supplying his army with weapons.
Putin has also sought to assemble a broad alliance of like-minded countries, hostile to the West and NATO.
Recently he sent warships and a nuclear submarine to Cuba, as a demonstration of the strong ties between Havana and Moscow.
Now the Russian President has turned his attention to Venezuela, as he seeks to strengthen ties with Nicolás Maduro.
Russian navy vessels from the Northern fleet pulled into the port of La Guaira on Tuesday for a visit that is expected to last several days.
They included Admiral Gorshkov and the oil tanker Akademik Passion, which previously had been in Cuba.
Russia’s state news agency TASS said: “A detachment of ships from the Northern Fleet…made a commercial stop at the port of La Guaira in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
“The business call will last several days, after which the sailors will continue with their assigned tasks.”
The visit by the Russian ships came hours after Nicolás Maduro announced new talks between his government and the US ahead of the presidential election this month.
In a televised appearance late on Monday, Maduro said the imminent talks are aimed at easing sanctions on Venezuela in exchange for electoral guarantees.
The president is seeking a third term in the July 28 vote, but most polls show him as many as 20 points behind the opposition’s candidate, Edmundo González, who is a stand-in for banned leader María Corina Machado.
The socialist leader is trying to persuade the Biden Administration to roll back sanctions on his country while also strengthening ties with his backers in the Kremlin.
Maduro officials have for years referred to Venezuela and Russia as “loyal allies,” particularly after economic sanctions isolated both nations.
As a result, the countries have struggled to find new buyers for their crude oil shipments.
Venezuela has high levels of crime and has previously been named the world’s most dangerous country for two consecutive years in Gallup surveys carried out in 2017 and 2018.
