Russia Is Not Backing Down From Venezuela

Welcome back to the world stage.

The crisis over Venezuela between Russia and the US is reaching a boiling point after talks between the two came to a standstill. Although both countries say they now better understand the other's viewpoints, both are unmoving in what they want. The Moscow Times reports:

"No, we did not come to a meeting of minds, but I think the talks were positive in the sense that both sides emerged with a better understanding of the other's views," U.S. special representative Elliot Abrams told reporters.

The Russian side also said the two sides now understood their respective standpoints better after the two-hour talks in Rome but Moscow's delegation chief, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov was blunter.

"Perhaps we failed to narrow positions on this situation...," Russian state-run TASS news agency quoted Ryabkov as saying. "We assume that Washington treats our priorities seriously, our approach and warnings."

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The two countries are divided over this but are firm, the US wants Maduro removed, Russia backs his leadership, even though their money is worthless, their people are suffering, and their economy is in chaos. President Donald Trump has said “all options are on the table” regarding Venezuela, which Russia interprets as a refusal to exclude military force. Maduro had even gone so far as to ask the Pope to help, but according to him, the time is not ripe for the Vatican to step in.

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Now, Russia has made a move of sending a small number of troops with military officials to Venezuela to discuss equipment maintenance and training, and strategy. This could lead to something big should the US accidentally injure any Russian Officials in a move to try and remove Maduro. The Guardian reported the following:

Javier Mayorca, a Venezuelan journalist, tweeted that a Russian cargo plane with military equipment also arrived in Caracas on Saturday.

He said around 100 Russian soldiers led by General Vasily Tonkoshkurov, head of the mobilisation directorate of Russia’s armed forces, disembarked along with about 35 tons of equipment.

Russia and China are the main allies of Venezuela. Both have lent billions of dollars to the oil-rich South American country, propping up Maduro’s anti-US government.

Russia has also vocally opposed US moves to sanction Maduro and his government, and to recognise opposition leader Juan Guaidó as Venezuela’s interim president.

US moves against Caracas have ratcheted up in recent weeks, with Donald Trump warning “all options” – implicitly including US military intervention – were being considered.

On 28 April, US sanctions are set to escalate with a ban on crude oil imports from Venezuela. America is historically Venezuela’s biggest oil buyer, and that step is expected to severely crimp the Maduro government’s already diminished finances.

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This all came days after the aforementioned meeting in Rome between the US and Russia, so it is clear that the two do not trust each other on the matters of Venezuela. Can you blame them though? Donald Trump, Mike Pence, and Mike Pompeo have all made very strong statements towards Venezuela since this entire thing started. Russia has given the US their red line to back off of, but will they? Should things continue to escalate it is clear that the US couldn't win. Russia and China have both demonstrated their military power and the US has been trying to make moves to keep up with this, although, should the three go to war, do you think Russia and China would stand alone? It is very likely that Iran and their allies would take this opportunity to take down America as well! The US has now cautioned Russia not to escalate this any further with their military mission and VOA News has reported the following:

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned his Russian counterpart Monday that the United States will not "stand idly" as Russia escalates political tensions in Venezuela.

"The continued insertion of Russian military personnel to support the illegitimate regime of Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela risks prolonging the suffering of the Venezuelan people who overwhelmingly support interim President Juan Guaido," a State Department readout of the call between Pompeo and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

"The Secretary called on Russia to cease its unconstructive behavior and join other nations, including the overwhelming majority of countries in the Western Hemisphere, who seek a better future for the Venezuelan people," the readout continued.

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While things continue to viciously heat up between the two nations, did you miss the most miraculous event that took place over Purim just as Rabbi such as Metityahu Glazerson, Chaim Kanievsky, and Yekutiel Fish said he would? Take a look at the video below!