19 December 2002 00:00
RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN SPEAKS TO VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT HUGO CHAVEZ BY TELEPHONE
On the late evening of December 17, on the Venezuelan side's initiative, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with Hugo Chavez, President of Venezuela.
Hugo Chavez described the Venezuelan authorities' efforts to end violence and ensure a return to normalcy in the country. In this context he noted the importance of a continued normal functioning of Venezuela's economy for the maintenance of stable prices in the world petroleum market and the steady democratic development of the states of Latin America as a whole.
President Putin expressed the hope that lawfully elected Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez would be able to establish a dialogue with all the responsible forces of the country in the interest of achieving a lasting national harmony and stabilizing the internal political situation. He gave a positive assessment to the unanimous stand of the member countries of the Organization of American States, which have spoken against any attempts at an unconstitutional change of system and for the settlement of all the issues within the framework of the current Venezuelan Constitution.
Certain topical questions of bilateral cooperation in the economic and other fields were also discussed.
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