Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodriguez on Thursday expressed “deep gratitude” to Russia’s Vladimir Putin for expressing his condolences after a pair of powerful earthquakes rocked the South American country, killing at least 164 people and injuring nearly 1,000.
Wednesday night’s 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes were among the strongest to strike Venezuela in more than a century.
In a letter addressed to Rodriguez, Putin expressed his “solidarity and support to the friendly people of Venezuela in this difficult time.”
On her Telegram channel, Rodriguez said Putin’s letter “reaffirms our strategic ties.” She issued similar notes of gratitude for the condolences and phone calls received from other world leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump.
Earlier, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia stands ready to “promptly review” a request for assistance from Venezuela, but noted that Putin and Rodriguez do not have immediate plans to speak by phone.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Embassy in Caracas said it was working to determine whether any Russians were among the victims of the earthquakes.
No Russian diplomats or their family members were harmed, and the embassy itself was not damaged, the diplomatic mission said.
