Contact period: Russia expects to sign an agreement with Venezuela in 2025
Russia expects to sign an agreement on strategic partnership and cooperation with Venezuela in 2025, the Russian embassy told Izvestia. Despite the sanctions pressure, the countries are deepening cooperation in trade, economic and investment spheres, as well as at the intergovernmental level, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko explained to Izvestia. Meanwhile, the United States is increasing restrictions against Venezuela's oil sector. Why the agreement between Russia and Venezuela is important for both countries and how it will help Caracas cope with external pressure is in our article.
When will Russia and Venezuela sign a partnership agreement
Russia expects to sign a strategic partnership and cooperation agreement with Venezuela in 2025, the Russian Embassy in Caracas told Izvestia.
— This document is an important milestone in the development of Russian—Venezuelan cooperation. There is a mutual interest in signing it as soon as the opportunity presents itself. It would be symbolic to do this in the jubilee year 2025 (80 years ago, in 1945, diplomatic relations were established between the USSR and Venezuela. — "Izvestia"), — stated in the Russian diplomatic mission.
The strategic partnership agreement between Russia and Venezuela has been fully agreed upon and is ready for signing, Dmitry Chernyshenko, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, confirmed to Izvestia.
"The document is intended to legally consolidate the qualitative changes that have taken place in bilateral relations and create a solid foundation for further expansion of multifaceted ties in the long term," he said.
According to Chernyshenko, despite the sanctions pressure exerted on our countries, the allied cooperation between the Russian Federation and Venezuela continues to deepen, including in the trade, economic and investment spheres, at the intergovernmental level.
— In this regard, the high-level intergovernmental Russian-Venezuelan Commission (HLCC) is an important tool. My counterpart, Executive Vice President and Minister of Hydrocarbons Delcy Rodriguez, and I have managed to establish effective cooperation to solve all the primary tasks," the Deputy Prime Minister stressed.
Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko and President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro during a meeting at the Miraflores Palace in Caracas. November 7, 2024
During the last meeting of the CCU in Caracas on November 7, 2024, 17 bilateral documents were signed, including the plan for the development of Russian-Venezuelan cooperation until 2030. It includes promising projects in 20 different areas. In addition, signatures appeared under documents in the fields of energy, geology and subsoil use, labor, industry, oilfield services, cultural and educational programs. Increased attention is being paid to their practical implementation, Dmitry Chernyshenko summed up.
In Venezuela's development strategy, Russia occupies a place not just as a partner, but as one of the pillars of a new multipolar order, a system in which Venezuela sees itself not as a periphery, but as an active participant, Timur Almukov, an expert on Latin America, told Izvestia.
— Over the past 20 years, Caracas has become the main buyer of Russian military products (worth over $11 billion), and a factory for the production of Kalashnikov assault rifles is being built in the country itself. Coordination of actions on international platforms and energy markets is also an important area of cooperation," the expert said.
Unlike many countries in the Global South, Venezuela does not just cooperate with Russia, but integrates it into its ideological model. For Caracas, Moscow is the civilizational antipode of the West, which contributes to the implementation of the domestic political Bolivarian project, Almukov concluded.
How the agreement will help Venezuela
The new agreement with Russia will help Caracas to deal with powerful external pressure, which exacerbates existing internal problems. In 2024, the country held presidential elections, in which, according to official data, incumbent President Nicolas Maduro won with a result of 51.95%. The opposition did not recognize the election results and organized mass protests. Nevertheless, Maduro assumed the presidency for the third time in January 2025.
The country's economy continues to suffer from hyperinflation: prices rose by 190% in 2023 and by 48% in 2024. Washington had previously imposed large-scale sanctions against Caracas, and now it is subjecting buyers of Venezuelan oil to secondary restrictions.
The United States has revoked work permits for the Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA from its foreign partners. Italy's ENI, Spain's Repsol and France's Maurel et Prom have already announced the suspension of operations in this country. According to Reuters, oil and fuel exports from Venezuela fell by 11.5% in March 2025, and this is not the limit, the decline may continue. In this context, Washington's interest in the Panama Canal is important, since if it comes under American control, the United States will block the supply routes of Venezuelan oil.
Venezuela is striving to diversify its external relations as much as possible, hence its great interest in partnership with BRICS. Caracas is working on joining the BRICS. In this context, its relations with both Russia and China are of particular importance. Until recently, Beijing clearly occupied the leading position here as a leading trade partner of Caracas, but recently Russia has been playing an increasingly important role, Denis Kuznetsov, associate professor of the Department of World Political Processes at MGIMO, told Izvestia.
— Last year, the trade turnover between the two countries increased significantly, and new agreements on long-term cooperation were signed. There are also significant investment projects in the energy sector," the expert emphasized.
Russia cooperates with Venezuela in the military-technical field, and there are joint projects in the field of medicine and the oil and gas industry. In addition, the countries have managed to establish a system of direct settlements, with some payments already being made in rubles. Tourism is one of the promising areas for cooperation and investment. The possibility of flights between Russia and Venezuela is expanding, and it is possible to pay with a Mir card in the republic.
Russia and Venezuela have historically had a special relationship. Venezuela became the first Latin American country whose independence was recognized by Russia in 1857. For Moscow, the new agreement with Caracas is important because it opens up additional opportunities for cooperation, including in energy, arms exports, and agriculture. Moscow and Caracas also work together at international venues, such as the United Nations. The experience of circumventing the sanctions imposed by Western countries is important for both countries.
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