Venezuelan president to visit Russia, Belarus next week

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro will visit Russia and Belarus next week, the Venezuelan Embassy in Moscow reported on Thursday. While in Russia Maduro will take part in the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) due to be held in Moscow on July 1-2. Then the Venezuelan president will leave for Belarus to meet local authorities over a series of agreements on agricultural transport, the embassy said. “On Monday I’ll go to Moscow to take part in the forum where the presidents of 15 countries, as well as the kings and emirs, will leave for. President Vladimir Putin will be the boss of our meeting,” the embassy quoted Maduro as saying on June 27. “On this occasion we’ll be near the border with Belarus, we’ll go to this country,” the Venezuelan president said. He explained that like as the existing Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which is founded by Venezuela, the Gas Exporting Countries Forum was being set up. “Venezuela is a gas great power,” Maduro added. “From 2014 to 2018 we’re creating our organisation in order to protect the interests of the gas exporting countries as we did in OPEC,” the Venezuelan leader said. Commenting on his trip to Belarus, he noted, “I’ll meet the authorities of the country to work out the agreements on supplies of Belarusian agricultural transport, which is considered the best one in the world.”