Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov complained on Wednesday that America is “discriminating” against other countries in its handling of Venezuela’s oil industry following the arrest of narco-terrorist socialist dictator Nicolas Maduro.
Lavrov’s ire was piqued by the U.S. Treasury Department issuing a general license for oil and gas production in Venezuela – a major loosening of sanctions against the Venezuelan energy industry that did not extend to transactions with Russia, China, and Iran.
“This is blatant discrimination, despite the fact that Russia, China and Iran have had investments in Venezuela’s oil and energy sector,” Lavrov railed in a speech to the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament.
Lavrov went on to accuse the United States of “working hard to push its interests” in other parts of the world, as though the U.S. were the only country in the world that should not do so.
“They are actively trying to promote their interests in the Middle East, for example via the Board of Peace. You can also look at the situation around Iran. The Asia-Pacific region, the Taiwan Strait, and the South China Sea have also been declared key areas of American interest,” he chuffed.
“This is basically a bid for global dominion,” he declared.
Despite the confrontational tone he took when speaking to an audience of Russian lawmakers, Lavrov claimed Moscow is still trying to work cordially with the United States, including on the issue of Venezuelan oil.
“In our interactions with our U.S. colleagues, we continue to promote the idea that it is necessary to work together in a spirit of mutual respect and not encroach on parts of the world that are far from the United States and have no impact on U.S. security,” he said.
Lavrov said Russian officials are talking to Washington about working respectfully with the United States, “without the idea of domination” – a choice of words that would raise a few eyebrows in Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also said on Wednesday that Russian officials are talking to the Trump administration about gaining access to Venezuela’s oil.
“We do indeed have investments in Venezuela, we have long-term projects, and there is interest both from our Venezuelan partners and from us. Therefore, all of this is a reason to discuss the situation with the Americans,” he said.
Russia’s state-owned Roszarubezhneft energy firm, which was created in 2020 to work around U.S. sanctions against Russian state oil giant Rosneft, insisted last month that all of its assets in Venezuela remain the property of Russia, even after the fall of Maduro.
Some international analysts, on the other hand, are convinced that Russia will ultimately have to “write off” its decades of investments in Venezuela oil, and possibly the loans it extended to prop up the Maduro regime. The Russians have done little to help the people of Venezuela adjust to the transition from the ugly regime that Moscow supported for so long.
Lavrov complained last week that “our companies are quite openly being pushed out of Venezuela.”
“Everywhere it is being said that Russian oil and Russian gas will be replaced by American oil and American liquefied natural gas,” he told Russia’s state-run RT media outlet.
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