The oil assets that Russia is developing in Venezuela belong to Russia, which will continue to operate there, Moscow said on Tuesday, challenging U.S. President Donald Trump's claims of control over the South American country, Reuters reports.
Russian firm "Roszarubezhneft" said that all of the company's assets in Venezuela are owned by Russia and that it will adhere to its commitments to international partners there, the TASS news agency reported.
"Roszarubezhneft", owned by a division of the Russian Ministry of Economic Development, was registered in 2020 and soon after acquired the Venezuelan shares of Russian state oil company "Rosneft" after Washington imposed sanctions at the time on two Rosneft units for trading Venezuelan oil.
All of "Roszarubezhneft"'s assets in Venezuela "are owned by the Russian state" in accordance with Venezuelan laws, international law and agreements between the two countries, a statement quoted by TASS said.
Trump has openly spoken of taking control of Venezuela's vast oil reserves, the largest in the world, in conjunction with American oil companies, after arresting and imprisoning Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whom he described as a dictator involved in drug trafficking in league with Washington's enemies. Maduro has pleaded not guilty.
The United States has also seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker linked to Venezuela after a week-long manhunt.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has not commented publicly on the U.S. operation in Venezuela, but the Russian Foreign Ministry has urged Trump to release Maduro and called for dialogue.
Russia has long maintained close ties with Venezuela, spanning energy cooperation, military ties and high-level political contacts, and Moscow has supported Caracas diplomatically for years.
In November, Venezuela's National Assembly approved a 15-year extension of joint ventures between state-owned company PDVSA and a unit of Russia's Roszarubezhneft, which operate two oil fields in the South American country's western region.