Relationship dossier
Russia
Venezuela
Relationship assessment
Russia and Venezuela maintain a close strategic partnership with significant political, military, and economic cooperation.
Russia toward Venezuela
+80Russia has supplied Venezuela with arms, provided financial support including debt restructuring, and backed the Maduro government diplomatically. Russian military visits and continuing energy cooperation have reinforced the strategic relationship.
Venezuela toward Russia
+75Venezuela has backed Russian diplomatic positions, including endorsing Russia’s recognition of separatist territories in eastern Ukraine. The Maduro government has also expressed support for Russia amid its conflict with Ukraine.
Overall relationship
+80The relationship is structured around sustained strategic coordination, including Russian arms and financial support for Venezuela and Venezuelan diplomatic backing for Russian positions. Energy cooperation and high-level political and military engagement reinforce the partnership. Economic constraints and the uncertain implementation of commitments temper its durability.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Russia and Venezuela maintain a close strategic partnership involving arms and energy cooperation, financial support, and diplomatic backing. Russia has supported the Maduro government and restructured Venezuelan debt; Venezuela has backed key Russian positions, including Russia’s recognition of separatist territories in eastern Ukraine. Their cooperation is substantial, though its practical scope and durability depend on changing political and economic conditions.
Key developments
Russia restructured Venezuela’s sovereign debt, easing near-term repayment obligations.
Russian strategic bombers visited Venezuela, highlighting military cooperation and political alignment.
Venezuela endorsed Russia’s recognition of separatist territories in eastern Ukraine.
Major uncertainties
- The scale and implementation of Russian arms, energy, and financial commitments are unclear.
- The extent of Venezuela’s practical support for Russian policy beyond diplomatic statements is uncertain.