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Diplomats in Moscow will remain loyal to Maduro — ambassador

Venezuela’s Ambassador to Moscow says diplomats at the Venezuelan Embassy in Moscow will remain loyal to the country’s President Nicolas Maduro
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro
© AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos

MOSCOW, January 31. /TASS/. Diplomats at the Venezuelan Embassy in Moscow will remain loyal to the country’s legitimate President Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela’s Ambassador to Moscow Carlos Rafael Faria Tortosa told TASS on Thursday.

When asked whether there had been efforts to induce the employees of the diplomatic mission into taking the side of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, the ambassador replied, "There have been no such attempts."

"No one has called for anything, and nobody has come round for that. They know whom to turn to, who may have doubts with regard to their beliefs, but we will remain faithful to our president and our people," the ambassador said.

Juan Guaido, Venezuelan opposition leader and parliament speaker, whose appointment to that position had been cancelled by the country’s Supreme Court, declared himself interim president at a rally in the country’s capital of Caracas on January 23.

Several countries, including the United States, Lima Group members (excluding Mexico), Australia, Albania, Georgia and Israel, as well as the Organization of American States, recognized him as president. Subsequently, Venezuela's incumbent President Nicolas Maduro blasted these actions as an attempted coup and said he was cutting diplomatic ties with the United States.

Meanwhile, Spain, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands said that they would recognize Guaido as Venezuela’s interim president unless Maduro called elections by February 3.

On January 29, Washington imposed sanctions against the Venezuelan oil company PDVSA and later transferred control of some of Venezuela’s assets in US banks to Guaido.

In contrast, Russia, Belarus, Bolivia, Iran, Cuba, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Turkey voiced support for Maduro, while China called for resolving all differences peacefully and warned against foreign interference. The United Nations secretary general, in turn, called for dialogue to resolve the crisis.