Russian Ambassador to Venezuela Vladimir Zaemsky has refuted reports about the withdrawal of Russian military specialists from the Latin American country.
"This is another piece of 'news' which has absolutely nothing to do with reality. Work is being carried out in accordance with existing obligations, and there is no talk of any cuts," Zaemsky said on Monday.
"As for technical experts, they come to the country from time to time in order to repair previously delivered equipment and provide technical maintenance," Rostec added.
In a recent report, the Wall Street Journal claimed that the alleged withdrawal of Russian advisers was an "embarrassment" for President Nicolas Maduro, and a sign that Russia was weighing "the leader's political and economic resilience against growing US pressure."
Moscow has provided Venezuela with military support in the form of military specialists operating in the country under contracts for the supply of Russian-made weapons systems. The contracts were signed before the start of the political crisis in the country earlier this year, and Russian officials have indicated recently that they have no plans to sign new contracts on the delivery of weaponry to Venezuela at the moment given the financial difficulties the country is in. Venezuela's armed forces are already equipped with a wide variety of modern Russian aircraft, helicopters, armoured vehicles, and air defence systems, including the S-300VM.
