Russia—one of the key supporters of Nicolas Maduro in the Venezuelan crisis—has stood by the Venezuelan leader for years and has poured billions of U.S. dollars in the Latin American country in the form of loans and oil investments, even when all other Venezuelan allies—including China—have shown reluctance to continue lending money to Maduro’s regime. At the beginning of the political crisis in Venezuela last month, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin held a telephone conversation with Maduro to express support for him as the legitimate president and to denounce that “destructive external interference is a gross violation of the fundamental norms of international law.” Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said a few days later that Russia would defend its interests in Venezuela, including oil interests, within the international law using “all mechanisms available to us.” Russian officials have not made public statements on Venezuela since late January. Moscow continues to back […]