MOSCOW, February 1. /TASS/. A high-ranking official of the Russian foreign ministry has reiterated Moscow’s position on the inadmissibility of a force scenario against Caracas, the ministry said on Friday after a meeting between Latina American department director Alexander Shchetinin and ambassadors of a number of Latin American nations.
"During the open and trust-based conversation, the Russian side reiterated Russia’s position on the inadmissibility of destructive, the more so force, outside interference into Venezuela’s affairs, the harmfulness of the sanction pressure and the importance of settling current problems through a peaceful domestic dialogue," the ministry said.
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.