Russia, Venezuela to strengthen cooperation

MOSCOW, July 4 (Xinhua) -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his visiting Venezuelan counterpart, Carlos Faria, on Monday voiced readiness to step up cooperation between the two countries in a wide range of fields.

"We agreed to promote work on mutually beneficial projects in a number of areas, including energy, pharmaceuticals, industry, transport and military technology," Lavrov said during a briefing with Faria held here.

Some Western countries' actions to block assets of sovereign states are a gross violation of the socio-economic rights of citizens, they said.

Venezuelan and Russian companies are working on specific projects in the energy sector, and both sides are exploring ways to bypass existing obstacles created by Western sanctions, Faria told reporters.