Oil assets that Russia develops in Venezuela belong to Russia, which will continue working there, Moscow said on Tuesday. This follows US President Donald Trump's claims of control over the South American country.
Russia's Roszarubezhneft firm said that all the company's assets in Venezuela were the property of Russia. It would stick to its commitments to international partners there, TASS news agency reported.
Roszarubezhneft, owned by a unit of the Russian Ministry of Economic Development, was incorporated in 2020. Soon afterwards it acquired the Venezuelan holdings of Russian state-run oil company Rosneft.
This occurred after Washington imposed sanctions at the time on two Rosneft units for trading Venezuelan oil. All Roszarubezhneft assets in Venezuela, "are the property of the Russian state," according to a statement reported by TASS.
This is in compliance with the laws of Venezuela, international law and agreements between the two countries, it said.
Trump has openly spoken of controlling Venezuela's vast oil reserves, the world's largest, in conjunction with US oil companies. This follows the arresting and jailing of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
Trump has described Maduro as a drug-trafficking dictator in league with Washington's foes. Maduro has pleaded not guilty.
The US has also seized a Venezuela-linked, Russian-flagged oil tanker after a weeks-long pursuit. Russian President Vladimir Putin has not commented publicly on the US operation in Venezuela.
Russia's foreign ministry has urged Trump to release Maduro and called for dialogue. Russia has long maintained close ties with Venezuela, spanning energy cooperation, military links and high-level political contacts.
Moscow has backed Caracas diplomatically for years. In November, Venezuela's National Assembly approved a 15-year extension of the joint ventures between state company PDVSA and a unit of Russia's Roszarubezhneft.
These ventures operate two oilfields in the South American country's western region.
(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin and Marina Bobrova; editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Bernadette Baum)
