Venezuelan officer confirms Russian military team arrival

A Venezuelan official has confirmed members of the Russian military have arrived in the South American nation. The Russians' arrival was originally reported on Monday in a Reuters story that said Russian Air Force planes landed in Caracas carrying a Russian defense official and nearly 100 troops.

Venezuela’s military attache in Moscow confirmed the presence of members of the Russian military but said they would not take part in military operations. A spokeswoman for Russia’s foreign ministry said Russia had sent the planes at the request of the Venezuelan government “to discuss military cooperation”.

“The presence of Russian servicemen in Venezuela is linked to the discussion of cooperation in the military-technical sphere,” Putin aide Jose Rafael Torrealba Perez said.

“Russian specialists have arrived in Venezuela in line with the provisions of a bilateral inter-government agreement on military-technical cooperation,” Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/436221-venezuelan-officer-confirms-russian-military-team-arrival-report