"The Russian head of state expressed confidence that under the leadership of Nicolas Maduro..."Moscow (ANTARA News/AFP) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday congratulated Venezuela`s Nicolas Maduro on his victory to succeed the late Hugo Chavez, the Kremlin said.
"The Russian head of state expressed confidence that under the leadership of Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela will continue to strengthen its strategic partnership with Russia," it said in a statement.
Maduro was declared winner by a razor-thin margin on Monday over opposition leader Henrique Capriles, who refused to concede defeat.
Russia and Venezuela have enjoyed close relations in the past decades, with Moscow selling Caracas large supplies of arms to Washington`s great unease.
Venezuela was also one of a handful of countries to recognise South Ossetia and Abkhazia, two breakaway regions of Georgia that Russia proclaimed independent after winning a brief 2008 war with the small ex-Soviet state.
The Kremlin statement said Putin hoped to "further develop a constructive dialogue (with Venezuela) on a full range of bilateral and international issues of interest to the two countries and their peoples."
(U.M016)
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