Putin, Lula Coordinate Response to US Action in Venezuela, Reaffirm Support for Sovereignty

By Staff, Agencies

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva held a phone conversation to discuss the situation in Venezuela following the recent abduction of President Nicolás Maduro by US forces, the Kremlin announced on Wednesday.

According to the statement, both leaders stressed that Russia and Brazil share firm, principled positions on safeguarding Venezuela’s sovereignty and national interests in the wake of what they described as US aggression against the oil-rich country. Putin and Lula agreed to continue close coordination, including within the United Nations and through the BRICS framework, to help ease tensions across Latin America.

The two presidents also reviewed prospects for strengthening bilateral ties ahead of the upcoming meeting of the Russian-Brazilian High-Level Commission on Cooperation, scheduled for February.

The call followed events earlier this month, when US commandos reportedly carried out airstrikes on Caracas and other Venezuelan regions before abducting Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. They were taken to a US warship and later flown to New York, where they appeared in court last week on drug-trafficking conspiracy charges. Both denied the accusations.

Reacting to the operation, Lula said on X that Washington had crossed an “unacceptable line,” warning that the raid set an “extremely dangerous precedent” for the international community. He described the abduction as a return to some of the darkest episodes of foreign interference in Latin America and the Caribbean, arguing that it undermines efforts to preserve the region as a zone of peace.

Moscow has reiterated its solidarity with Venezuela in the face of what it called neo-colonial threats and external armed aggression, demanding Maduro’s immediate release from US custody. Speaking at an emergency UN Security Council session earlier this month, Russia’s Ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, condemned the US action as “international banditry” motivated by a drive to secure control over natural resources.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov echoed that stance on Wednesday, denouncing the US attack on Venezuela as a clear and serious violation of international law.