Russia revealed it is open to sending more military specialists to the South American nation upon request, according to its Foreign Ministry. Mr Putin has been a long-time ally of Caracas, recently sending advisors and engineers to aid the embattled nation. Alexandre Schetinin, Director of the Foreign Ministry’s Latin American Department, confirmed to reporters that those currently stationed in Venezuela will remain there.
He added: “We have got contracts on maintenance works for what has been supplied to Venezuela.
“Any works demand a certain involvement of people.
“If more [specialists] are needed, we will send them.”
The comments came hours after Mr Putin confirmed Russia would not be sending troops or building a military base in Caracas.
He said: “We aren’t building any military bases there [Venezuela], we aren’t sending troops there, we have never done that.”
Sending a stark warning to the US, he added that any military intervention would be a “catastrophe”, noting: “The crisis in Venezuela should be settled by the Venezuelan people.”
Moscow has previously said that a full withdrawal of Russia’s military from Venezuela would be a devastating blow to ally Nicolas Maduro.
Russia’s involvement with Caracas has ramped up since August 2017, when US President Donald Trump said he would consider military intervention in the country.
Since then, the Kremlin has spoken out about the “imperialist” attitude of the US and pledged to support a peaceful resolution to the crisis.
While Washington has sanctioned Venezuela and openly backed opposition leader Juan Guaido, Russia has stayed firm in their support for President Maduro, going so far as to veto a UN resolution calling for fresh elections.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Wednesday: “For more than two years now, Venezuela has been forced to live under the actual Damocles sword of looming US aggression.
“We welcome the desire of the government and the opposition to maintain contact with each other and are willing to provide the necessary assistance to this dialogue.”
Mr Schetinin was speaking at the St Petersburg International Forum – most recently the hub of talks between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Mr Putin.
The two agreed coherent geopolitical strategies on North Korea, Iran and Venezuela – as well as strengthening economic relations between them.