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VENEZUELA'S POLITICAL CRISIS

Russian diplomat denies Pompeo’s claims that Moscow told Maduro to stay

"Washington tried its best to demoralize the Venezuelan army and now used fakes as a part of information war", Maria Zakharova said

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova Anton Novoderezhkin/TASS

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova

© Anton Novoderezhkin/TASS

MOSCOW, May 1. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has rejected the claims of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro was preparing to leave Venezuela, but was talked out of it by Russia.

"Washington tried its best to demoralize the Venezuelan army and now used fakes as a part of information war," Zakharova told CNN.

Earlier, in his interview with CNN, Pompeo claimed that Maduro "had an airplane on the tarmac" on Tuesday and he was ready to leave, but "the Russians indicated he should stay." Pompeo said that US had information that Maduro was preparing to leave the country for Cuba, and Russia stopped him.

Maduro rejected Pompeo’s claims in a televised address, calling them "craziness" and "lies and manipulation." "Please, Mr. Pompeo, you're not being serious," he said.

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United States Venezuela A Just Russia Political crisis in Venezuela

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Putin responds to question about Russia's weakness by quoting Mark Twain

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