Trump spoke with Putin about the crisis in Venezuela

The president of the United States,

Donald Trump,

He spoke this Friday for over an hour with his Russian counterpart,

Vladimir Poutine,

on the

situation in Venezuela,

besides Ukraine, North Korea and a possible new "nuclear agreement" that would potentially include China.

Russia was at the center of the scene this week when Washington accused Moscow of having convinced President Nicolás Maduro not to flee to Cuba.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Maduro had a plane ready to go to Havana when "the Russians told him he had to stay."

Moscow responded by baderting that these claims were false and accusing Washington of supporting a coup d'etat "which has nothing to do with democracy" by supporting the leader of the opposition , Juan Guaidó.

Moscow has its reasons to support Maduro, one of the few allies of Latin America and Russia having invested millions of dollars in the Venezuelan economy.

But, according to badysts, Vladimir Putin would bet on a long-term strategy, hoping to take advantage of the case of Venezuela in its fierce fight with Washington.

"Russia is looking to transform its influence in Maduro – which is not absolute – into an opportunity to engage with the United States," Tatyana Stanovaya, director of R.Politik, told AFP. based in Paris. Paris

For Russia, "Maduro is a currency".

The tension in Venezuela has increased since the proclamation of Juan Guaidó to the interim presidency in January, claiming that Maduro's reelection last year was illegitimate and based on three articles of the Constitution.

More than 50 countries, led by the United States, have supported the president of the National Assembly for 35 years, while China and Russia have supported Maduro.

Under the blaze of Western sanctions, Moscow quickly saw an opportunity, even if it meant confrontation with the United States in Latin America, Washington's traditional area of ​​influence.

With information from AFP and Telam agencies.