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VENEZUELA'S POLITICAL CRISIS

Diplomat comments on Uruguay’s, Mexico’s initiative to convene conference on Venezuela

On January 23, Venezuelan parliament speaker and opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself interim president

MOSCOW, January 31. /TASS/. Uruguay’s and Mexico’s initiative to convene a conference on the situation in Venezuela needs to be looked at, Russian diplomats will discuss this initiative, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.

VENEZUELA'S POLITICAL CRISIS

According to media reports, the Uruguayan and Mexican governments plan to organize a conference on Venezuela in Montevideo on February 7. The conference is expected to be attended by more than ten nations and international organizations.

"This initiative is yet to be discussed by diplomats to specify the conference’s parameters," Zakharova told a briefing.

When asked whether Moscow has resources enough to ensure dialogue between Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaido, she drew attention to the fact that the latter was prohibited to be in any dialogue with the opposite side. "This is the problem, with specific rules of the game set for the opposition leader," she noted. "Apart from that, external circumstances are being created to make this dialogue impossible. Ad as for Russia, it does have both the potential and experience of maintaining contacts with various representatives of political forces."

On January 23, Venezuelan parliament speaker and opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself interim president at a rally in the country’s capital of Caracas. On the same day, the United States, the Lima Group members (excluding Mexico), the Organization of American States and a number of other nations recognized him. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, in turn, blasted the move as a coup staged by Washington and said he was severing diplomatic ties with the US.

Russia, Belarus, Bolivia, Iran, China, Cuba, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Turkey voiced support for Maduro.

European nations, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and France, said on January 26 that they will recognize Guaido as interim president if Maduro fails to announce presidential elections within eight days.

The United Nations secretary general, in turn, called for dialogue to resolve the crisis.

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