MOSCOW, October 8 (RIA Novosti) - Venezuela supports Russia's stance on the Western sanctions imposed against Moscow, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Venezuela Rafael Ramirez stated at a meeting with his Russian counterpart Wednesday.
"Venezuela provides strong support for the position of the Russian Federation with regard to the sanctions imposed against it by Western countries," Ramirez said.
On Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Venezuelan counterpart Rafael Ramirez met in Moscow to discuss further political and economic cooperation between the two countries, in particular, the joint development of offshore fields, the construction of a thermal power plant in Venezuela and other projects.
Venezuela is the second largest trade and economic partner of Russia in Latin America after Brazil. Russian companies such as Gazprom, Rosneft and Lukoil have interests in Venezuela.
Relations between Russia and the West have deteriorated due to the situation in Ukraine. Following Crimea's reunification with Russia, the United States and the European Union introduced several rounds of economic sanctions against Russia, blaming Moscow for meddling in Ukraine's internal affairs — claims that Russia has repeatedly denied.
The Western sanctions predominantly target banking, and the energy and military sectors.
Russian politicians have repeatedly referred to the language of sanctions as "counterproductive," saying that such measures "threaten international peace and stability". Russian President Vladimir Putin has stressed that the sanctions are ineffective and inflict certain damage on those who use the measure.
