US warns Russia after military visit to Venezuela

President Donald Trump's administration is calling on Russia to cease "unconstructive" behavior in Venezuela after Moscow flew two planes with military personnel into the country over the weekend.

US secretary of state Mike Pompeo says the administration will "not stand idly by" if Moscow continues inserting officials to support Venezuela's president Nicolas Maduro, according a US summary of a telephone call Pompeo had today with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.

Lavrov on the call accused the US of attempting to organize a coup against Maduro, according to Russia's foreign ministry. The Trump administration has imposed increasingly stringent sanctions on Venezuela in hopes of pressuring a transfer of power to Venezuelan National assembly speaker Juan Gaido, who is recognized by most Western countries as interim president.

The Russian military contingent that arrived in Venezuela over the weekend is comprised of arms specialists who are engaged in equipment maintenance with no combat mission, a Venezuelan defense ministry official told Argus.

Russia's state-controlled Rosneft is one of Venezuelan national oil company PdV´s main joint venture partners in the Orinoco heavy oil belt. The PdV-led PetroMonagas upgrader, in which Rosneft is a minority shareholder, is part of the Jose oil-processing complex and export terminal in Anzoátegui state.

Rosneft is also one of the Venezuelan government´s main creditors and offtakers of Venezuelan crude, which it takes to its Nayara refinery complex in India.

The US House of Representatives today is set to vote today on a bill that would require the US secretary of state to assess threats from Russia-Venezuela cooperation and the national security risks from a potential Russian takeover of Citgo, PdV's US refining subsidiary. The House will also vote on measures to restrict arms exports to Venezuela and provide the country humanitarian assistance.