Pipes are called: Russia is ready to discuss cooperation on Venezuelan oil with the United States

Russia and the United States are preparing a meeting of parliamentarians. The specific date and location are being worked out. The State Duma explained to Izvestia that one of the topics should be the Venezuelan track and potential cooperation in the oil sector. These may be joint mining projects, given the complexity of processing Venezuelan raw materials, but experts have different assessments of the likelihood of such cooperation. In January, Anna Paulina Luna, a member of the US House of Representatives, sent an official invitation to some State Duma deputies after coordination with the State Department. However, cooperation between Russia and the United States largely depends on whether the parties can find a compromise in resolving the Ukrainian crisis. According to Luna, this topic will be the main topic of future consultations. What difficulties remain in organizing the meeting can be found in the Izvestia article.

Cooperation between Russia and the United States on Venezuela

In connection with the recent events around Venezuela, Russia and the United States have another reason for potential cooperation — hydrocarbons, or rather, how Moscow can gain access to the country's oil sector, which Washington now plans to control. Deputies of the Russian State Duma and members of the U.S. House of Representatives may discuss this topic in the near future, Dmitry Novikov, first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, told Izvestia. A message about the invitation of deputies to consultations in Washington, with the approval of the State Department, was previously posted on the social network by Anna Paulina Luna, a member of the Republican House of Representatives.

— I think that during the meeting, if it takes place, there will be issues, including those related to the Venezuelan track. This means that oil-related topics will also arise. Because the initiators of the complication of the situation around Venezuela, that is, the current White House team, do not particularly hide that one of the goals of their actions was oil, so these questions naturally arise," Novikov said.

According to the Venezuelan Ambassador to Russia, Jesus Rafael Salazar, there are five joint ventures with the Russian Federation in the country. We are talking about active cooperation mainly in the field of oil products production. In particular, Venezuelan companies receive diluents from Russia that facilitate the extraction of heavy oil. Urals or naphtha products are used for this purpose. According to Bloomberg, the United States ceased to be the main supplier of naphtha to Venezuela in 2025, and Russia took its place. Thus, the volume of supplies from Russia from March to October exceeded 7 million barrels.

In May 2025, the parties signed a strategic partnership agreement. According to the document, Moscow and Caracas cooperate in the energy sector in such areas as the exploration and development of new oil and natural gas fields, increasing field returns, reducing their environmental impact, and expanding oil trading operations on a mutually beneficial basis.

Now, after the capture and arrest of Nicolas Maduro, contacts with the Venezuelan side at the parliamentary level and through the diplomatic line remain in normal operation, a source in the State Duma told Izvestia. However, it is likely to be more difficult to increase cooperation in the current circumstances, because Washington intends to control all fuel transportation routes. In this case, it is worth establishing contacts with the United States in this area. However, some experts believe that further oil cooperation between Russia and the United States in Venezuela in the same production is unlikely.

— The American projects in Venezuela are based on transferring controlling stakes in oil companies to American companies. It is not a fact that they will increase production in the short term. The main thing is to gain control over the largest fields, put them on the balance sheet, and this will allow companies to increase capitalization," said Igor Yushkov, a leading analyst at the National Energy Security Fund and an expert at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation.

According to the expert, Russia currently does not need to be present in Venezuela and extract oil there, as it has its own energy resources. The Russian Federation, as Yushkov noted, entered into Venezuelan projects in order to economically support the development of diplomatic relations.

In addition, Venezuela is not a very large market for domestic businesses and is not decisive in the matter of supplies. The Americans will definitely occupy the oil products market, but this loss will not be great for Russia, the expert concluded.

At the same time, according to Finam analyst Nikolai Dudchenko, Russia and the United States, on the contrary, may very well cooperate in Venezuela. Despite Donald Trump's statements that he would not tolerate the presence of Russia and China in a Latin American country, the opinion of the US president often changes, the expert noted.

— Despite the recent events in Venezuela and the seizure of a Russian tanker, the parties are striving to maintain dialogue. The current situation largely depends on whether the parties will be able to come to any final agreement on the Russian-Ukrainian conflict," Dudchenko stressed.

Market announcement: Trump urges US companies to develop Venezuelan oil

What is the difficulty of working with this fuel and do the White House's plans overlap with the interests of the Russian Federation and China in the republic?

Difficulties with holding a meeting

The issue of resolving the crisis in Ukraine will be the main topic of consultations at the upcoming meeting of parliamentarians, said Anna Paulina Luna. In October 2025, the congresswoman held a meeting with the special representative of the President of Russia Kirill Dmitriev. According to him, contacts with Luna are very important because "this is an example of people who advocate dialogue with Russia and want to understand the Russian position."

However, there are still a lot of issues to be resolved for the meeting. A member of the US House of Representatives has already stated that negotiations between Russian and American parliamentarians will take place in Washington and, possibly, even before the end of January. However, according to Dmitry Novikov, the exact location for consultations has not yet been determined. According to him, the issues of the timing and composition of the delegation are also still "at the level of elaboration." In addition, the deputies of the State Duma expect security guarantees during the meeting, as well as the lifting of sanctions against parliamentarians.

— There are various topics related to the sanctions lists of the West against my colleagues in the State Duma, including, and without an agreement on these organizational issues and guarantees from the American side, it is difficult to put an end to the discussion of these issues, — said Dmitry Novikov.

According to the MP, coordinating all the preparatory organizational aspects is much more difficult than it might seem at first glance.

Of course, there are difficulties in agreeing on the most important thing — the agenda of the meeting. According to Novikov, even with all the safety guarantees, the journey will be very long and a lot of attention will be focused on the trip.

"And if we don't see that this can lead to some kind of solution, but at least a very meaningful exchange of views that can influence the course of events, the question will arise what is the point of such a trip," said the deputy.

At least, the visits of high-level Russian and American representatives that have already taken place represent at least a meaningful exchange of views. Kirill Dmitriev's trips to the United States, as well as the numerous visits of his American counterpart Steve Witkoff, and now with Jared Kushner to Russia, make it possible to continue the conflict resolution process.