Russia Says It’s Considering Venezuela’s Requests for Assistance Amid US Military Buildup in the Caribbean

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Friday that Moscow was prepared to “respond appropriately” to Venezuela’s request for military assistance amid a US military buildup in the Caribbean, Newsweek has reported.

Zakharova also responded to reports that the US had drawn up different options for attacking Venezuela and warned against any escalation. “It’s clear that what a number of American observers, experts, and figures in various structures are saying is that this kind of direct aggression will worsen the situation rather than resolve the issues that have every potential to be resolved legally and diplomatically within the legal framework,” she said, according to Russia’s TASS news agency.

Alexei Zhuravlev, a senior lawmaker in Russia’s State Duma, said last week that Moscow had recently delivered air defense systems to Venezuela, including the Pantsir-S1, a system Caracas was not previously known to have. Zhuravlev said Moscow could also be open to sending Venezuela ballistic missiles.