Venezuelan Ambassador to Russia promises safety of Russian investments
All investments of Russian companies in projects in Venezuela are totally safe, the Ambassador of Venezuela to Russia, Carlos Rafael Faria Tortosa stated in an interview with the newspaper Izvestia.
“I can say with full confidence that investments are totally safe,” the diplomat said. According to him, authorities “are in control of all processes” and the situation in the streets is calm. “They [ the projects] will also be protected by the Venezuelan Armed Forces, if necessary,” Tortosa added.
According to the Ambassador, recent demonstrations were “related to the historical date” when the military dictatorship fell and for now the situation has normalized.
In early December, Venezuelan President Maduro stated that Moscow and Caracas signed investment agreements for $6 billion. $5 billion will be provided for oil production and another $1 billion for gold production. According to Reuters, as of 2017, the Russian government and the Russian oil giant Rosneft provided Venezuela with loans or credit lines for at least $17 billion starting from 2006.
On January 23, during the rally in Caracas, the Speaker of the National Assembly of Venezuela, Juan Guaidó declared himself acting leader of Venezuela. He was supported by Western and Latin American countries. The current President, Nicolás Maduro accused the opposition and the USA of trying to carry out a coup d’état.