Putin Backs Venezuela Opposition Dialog, But No New Aid Offered
- Putin meets Maduro in the Kremlin, financial aid not discussed
- ‘Irrational’ to end talks with opponents, Putin tells Maduro
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Rejecting dialog with the opposition would be “irrational,” Russian President Vladimir Putin told Nicolas Maduro, less than two weeks after the collapse of negotiations between the Venezuelan leader and his main opponent Juan Guaido.
Putin, one of Maduro’s few international allies, didn’t offer any major new financial support to the embattled regime in his public comments at the opening of their meeting in the Kremlin Wednesday. Touting increasing farm trade, Putin said Moscow will soon send flu vaccines to Caracas, which has seen its economy crippled by U.S. sanctions. “We consider this part of our humanitarian cooperation,” Putin said.