Venezuelan Defense Minister Visits Turkey to Discuss ‘Military Cooperation’

Venezuela’s defense minister visited Turkey on Monday to discuss military cooperation and regional issues, Turkish state media reported.

Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López was welcomed to Ankara by his Turkish counterpart Hulusi Akar with a military ceremony at the National Defense Ministry. In a closed-door meeting, the pair reportedly discussed potential military cooperation, as Venezuelan troops allegedly prepare themselves for war an invasion led by the United States. Turkey and the United States are treaty-bound to fight alongside each other if attacked, as they are both members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

“I have spoken with the Vice President of the Republic of Turkey, Fuat Oktay, on matters of common interest to both nations, I also delivered a letter of greetings signed by President Nicolás Maduro to the Turkish people and the government president by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan,” López wrote on Twitter of his visit.

The meeting is another sign of warming relations between the two countries, both of which are facing increasing international isolation due to their authoritarian leadership and human rights abuses.

Addressing the United Nations last month, Erdogan pledged to defend Venezuela from the international pressure campaign led by the United States, which urges an end to Maduro’s regime.

“Turkey will not leave (Venezuelan President Nicolas) Maduro alone,” Erdogan declared at the Assembly in New York, berating other world leaders who have denounced Maduro’s regime.

Shortly afterward, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu visited Maduro in Caracas to reaffirm his government’s support for Maduro’s regime and develop closer diplomatic and economic ties.

“We want to reiterate that Turkey will continue to support Venezuela,” he said. “We oppose measures to isolate the country, we are against the sanctions, and we favor dialogue between individuals.”

Both Maduro and Erdogan built their relationship last year after the Turkish leader invited Maduro to an anti-Israel meeting in Turkey held by with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), organized in response to President Donald Trump’s decision to move the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

This year, Maduro was one of the 22 heads of state to attend Erdogan’s inauguration, as his regime desperately seeks financial support and foreign inward investment to help the ease the pressure of the country’s dire economic crisis. Erdogan, meanwhile, plans to visit Venezuela following the G20 summit in Argentina in November.

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