Venezuela's Maduro expected to visit Russia, Putin's oil point man says

FILE PHOTO: Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro gestures during a meeting with Chile's Ambassador to Venezuela Jaime Gazmuri, at Miraflores Palace, in Caracas, Venezuela August 16, 2023. REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria/File Photo

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia is expecting a visit by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, President Vladimir Putin's oil point man Alexander Novak said on Monday.

A source familiar with the plans told Reuters that the visit would take place by the end of the year.

"We note the importance of continuing joint work to stabilize the global energy market, including in the OPEC+ format," Russian Deputy Prime Minister Novak said.

Novak said such efforts were "especially important in the context of attempts by Western countries to use the demand for energy resources as an instrument of political pressure."

Novak was speaking during a meeting of a Russia-Venezuela inter-governmental commission in Moscow.

"Our solidarity approach is a determining factor in ensuring a healthy balance of supply and demand in the oil market, maintaining the investment attractiveness of the industry and countering speculative sentiment," Novak said.

Venezuela boasts the world's largest proven oil reserves. Russia is the world's second largest oil exporter.

(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin and Olesya Astakhova; Editing by Guy Faulconbridge)