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Russia will not back military solution to Venezuela crisis, Lavrov says

Moscow stands for the situation to be resolved through inclusive dialogue, the Russian top diplomat said

MOSCOW, June 3. /TASS/. Russia cannot and will never support solving the crisis in Venezuela by military means, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told the joint press conference with his Colombian counterpart Carlos Holmes Trujillo on Monday.

According to Lavrov, Moscow has repeatedly voiced opposition to the use of force or any other forms of intervening in the Venezuelan domestic affairs or in those of any other country. "One cannot solve a conflict by threats, because they antagonize the society and create an illusion for the opposition that it can illegally win power with the foreign weapons," the minister pointed out. "Undeniably, we cannot and will not support this."

"The response to the question of until what degree Russia will support Venezuela lies in the framework of the international law. There’s the UN Charter and we will demand that the crisis was settled solely based on it," Lavrov stressed.

In response to the question of what the crises in Venezuela and Syria and Russia’s role in their settlement have in common, the Russian top diplomat said that in both cases Moscow stands for the situation to be resolved through inclusive dialogue. "Russia played the key role in adopting the UN Security Council Resolution 2254, which is based on the clear notion that only Syrians themselves should determine the future of their country," he emphasized. "This resolution also contains the demand to start a dialogue between the government and the whole spectrum of the opposition. The same approach is needed in Venezuela."