Russia has lost Armenia, Syria and now Venezuela: International media coverage

Russia has been shaken by the capture of one of the Kremlin’s key allies, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. However, in Moscow, US President Donald Trump’s intervention in Venezuela is also being viewed as a return to great-power politics — a world order in which larger, imperial powers dominate their regional spheres of influence with impunity, The Washington Post writes.

According to the newspaper, Russia’s struggling economy is under pressure from new sanctions, and analysts note that Moscow has gradually reduced its interest in Venezuela. Experts say that, for Russia, the war in Ukraine is far more significant than developments in Venezuela.

The Washington Post also notes that a similar lack of response has been felt by other key Kremlin allies, including Syria, Iran and Armenia, all of which had relied on Moscow’s support. Syria’s ousted strongman Bashar al-Assad has been living in Moscow since fleeing Damascus in December 2024, while in August Armenia signed a peace agreement with its long-time adversary Azerbaijan at the White House — an event at which Trump appeared “like a proud parent,” the newspaper notes. The agreement also granted the United States the right to oversee and develop the long-disputed “Zangezur Corridor,” a strategically important route in the region.

Speaking to Deutsche Welle, security expert Neil Melvin stressed that this is not the first time President Vladimir Putin has failed to support an ally. “Russia has lost Armenia, Syria and now Venezuela,” he said. According to the expert, Russia’s international standing is weakening significantly as it intensifies its war against Ukraine and lacks the resources to maintain such alliances.