Russia Will Seek Clarification from the U.S. on Venezuela Oil Restrictions

ARCHIVE PHOTO - Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov attends a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in Moscow, Russia. May 7, 2025. Alexander Zemlianichenko/Pool via REUTERS · Reuters

Reuters

Wed, February 11, 2026, 7:48 p.m. GMT+9 2 min read

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MOSCOW, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Russia plans to request the United States to clarify the new restrictions imposed on Venezuela’s oil business, the Kremlin announced on Wednesday, and its Foreign Minister said they constitute blatant discrimination.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury issued a general license on Tuesday to facilitate oil and gas exploration and production in Venezuela. The license did not authorize transactions involving Russian or Chinese citizens or entities.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Russia would clarify the situation with Washington through available communication channels.

“It is true that we have investments in Venezuela, we have long-term projects, and both our Venezuelan partners and we are interested. Therefore, all of this is a reason to discuss the situation with the Americans,” Peskov said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia was in contact with Washington on this matter and wanted to conduct mutual respect work “without the idea of domination.”

U.S. President Donald Trump has openly spoken about controlling Venezuela’s vast oil reserves, the largest in the world, in collaboration with American oil companies, after overthrowing Nicolás Maduro.

Maduro has declared himself innocent of the charges brought against him by the United States.

The Russian energy company Roszarubezhneft, operating in the South American country, said last month that all of the company’s assets in Venezuela belonged to Russia and that it would maintain its commitments with international partners there.

Rosszarbezhneft, owned by a unit of Russia’s Ministry of Economic Development, was established in 2020 and shortly after acquired Venezuelan stakes in the Russian state oil company Rosneft, following U.S. sanctions on two Rosneft units for trading Venezuelan oil.

Russia has long maintained close ties with Venezuela, including energy cooperation, military relations, and high-level political contacts, and Moscow has diplomatically supported Caracas for years.

Rosneft held stakes in exploration and production companies in Venezuela, such as Petromonagas (40%), Petroperija (40%), Boquerón (26.67%), Petromiranda (32%), and Petrovictoria (40%).

(Report by Dmitry Antonov; editing by Vladimir Soldatkin; Spanish edition by Javier López de Lérida)

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