Nicolas Maduro arrived in Turkey, Ankara on Tuesday, when a “Summit of the Americas” is being held in the United States from which Venezuela is excluded.
The Venezuelan president is due to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and his visit coincides with that of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who arrived in Turkey a few hours earlier.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro arrived in Turkey on Tuesday June 7 for an official visit, at the time when the “Summit of the Americas” is taking place in the United States, to which he was not invited by Washington.
“I am very happy to start this international tour on the lands of the Turkish sister nation”, wrote the head of state on Twitter. “I am sure that we will consolidate the bonds of union and cooperation between our two peoples,” added Nicolas Maduro.
This visit to Turkey comes as the Summit of the Americas opened on Monday in Los Angeles, from which Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua, described by Washington as “dictatorships”, were excluded.
The start of Nicolas Maduro’s visit to Turkey came hours after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in Ankara to discuss the establishment of maritime corridors to facilitate grain exports to the Black Sea, in full war in Ukraine. It is unclear whether the Venezuelan president will meet the Russian minister as Moscow is another ally of the South American country.
On the other hand, Nicolas Maduro will meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, according to the Turkish presidency. “The two leaders will discuss regional and global issues,” the presidency said in a statement, indicating that “all aspects” of bilateral relations between the two countries “will be reviewed and discussed for their improvement”.
Turkey is one of the main trade allies of Venezuela which, subject to international sanctions from the United States, has also strengthened its ties with China, Iran and Russia.
In April, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu traveled to Caracas to sign cooperation agreements. He announced Turkey’s intention to triple investment in Venezuela to $1.5 billion.
