Big League Politics 
On September 9, 2022, Russia and Venezuela reiterated their mutual support for defending national sovereignty and basic interests. According to TASS, the Russian foreign ministry confirmed this following a meeting between Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov and Venezuelan Ambassador to Russia Jesus Rafael Salazar Velasquez.
The ambassador sent several copies of his credentials to Ryabkov. “The sides reiterated their commitment to the relations of strategic partnership between Russia and Venezuela and expressed solidarity and firm mutual support on issues of the defense of state sovereignty and basic interests of the two countries,” the ministry declared. “The two diplomats discussed current issues of the comprehensive Russian-Venezuelan cooperation, agreed upcoming political contacts, outlined steps toward closer mutually beneficial cooperation in the trade-and-economic, investment, scientific-and-technical, cultural and humanitarian spheres that would be resistant to external pressure.”…
