Maduro tries to walk it back & Russia is an important part of the story:

Venezuela seeks to cool outrage in U-turn on congress annulment

By Girish Gupta and Andrew Cawthorne, Reuters, April 1, CARACAS

Venezuela's pro-government Supreme Court on Saturday revoked its controversial annulment of the opposition-led Congress amid international condemnation and protests against socialist President Nicolas Maduro.

Unprecedented pressure from other Latin American nations and dissent within its own ranks appear to have been the catalyst for the court's reversal of its own Wednesday ruling.

"This controversy is over," Maduro said just after midnight to a specially convened state security committee that ordered the top court to reconsider.

The tribunal duly erased the two controversial judgments and its president, Maikel Moreno, met with both foreign envoys and journalists to explain the decision, insisting there had never been any intention to strip the National Assembly of its powers.

While Maduro, 54, sought to cast developments as the achievement of a statesman resolving a power conflict beneath him, his foes said it was a hypocritical row-back by an unpopular government that had overplayed its hand.

"You can't pretend to just normalize the nation after carrying out a 'coup,'" said Julio Borges, leader of the legislature.[....]

Cash-strapped Venezuela negotiating Russian help to pay PDVSA bonds: sources

By Marianna Parraga and Corina Pons , Reuters, March 31,  HOUSTON/CARACAS

Venezuela is negotiating financial help from Russian oil major Rosneft to complete nearly $3 billion in PDVSA debt payments coming due to bondholders next month, two market sources and a government source familiar with the talks told Reuters on Friday.

Venezuela's leftist government has grown increasingly close to Russia's Vladimir Putin and Rosneft has become an important financier and oil player in the OPEC nation with the world's biggest crude reserves.

The negotiations are happening even as political chaos reins in Venezuela after its Supreme Court annulled the opposition-led National Assembly's powers to approve oil joint ventures, sparking protests and international condemnation.

Earlier this month, Reuters reported PDVSA had offered a stake in the Petropiar joint venture to Rosneft, as part of what two sources told Reuters was a wider package of financial help Venezuela was seeking from Russia [.....]