UNITED NATIONS, February 14. /TASS/. Several United Nations member states have decided to establish a group to deter attempts to interfere in the internal affairs of countries, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said in a statement on Thursday.
A group of 50 nations which includes Russia, Iran, China and Syria is set to take coordinated measures on the international arena to protect Venezuela and the international law in general, Arreaza told reporters. Representatives of 16 nations, including Russia, Bolivia, Iran, China, North Korea, Cuba, Myanmar, Namibia, Nicaragua, Palestine, Syria and Surinam, stood beside Arreaza in the UN to deliver a joint statement.
"We are announcing that an important group of member states of the United Nations… decided to organize ourselves to coordinate our actions to defend the Charter and the rights of all member states," the statement reads.
"In the next few days, we will begin a series of actions to raise awareness around the dangers that our people currently face, particularly Venezuela," Arreaza said.
According to the statement, the countries are working to defend important principles of the international law and the UN Charter, such as the principle of equal rights and the self-determination of peoples; respect for sovereign equality of UN member states; the duty of states to refrain from the threat or use of force against any other state; respect for territorial integrity and political independence of nations; and non-intervention in domestic affairs.
"We believe these principles are being violated, putting at risk the right to peace and security of our peoples, the right to development and full enjoyment of human rights. We all have the right to live without the threat or use of force and without the application of illegal coercive measures. In the next few days we will begin a series of actions to raise awareness around the dangers that our peoples currently face, particularly Venezuela," Arreaza said.
"We call upon all the member states of the United Nations to join us in defending international law as the only guarantor for humanity’s peaceful coexistence," he concluded.
Venezuela’s top diplomat told TASS that the group will take a coordinated action at various UN bodies, including the General Assembly and the Security Council.
Russia’s UN envoy, Vasily Nebenzya, said, in his turn, that the group was set up to support "not only Venezuela, but the international law in general."
He refused to reveal the group's further plans, but said that an international conference on Venezuela, convoked by the country’s legitimate government, was one of the options on table.
Situation in Venezuela
On January 23, 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.
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. Maduro, in turn, blasted the move as a coup staged by Washington and said he was severing diplomatic ties with the US.
In contrast, Russia, Belarus, Bolivia, Iran, Cuba, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Syria 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.
On February 4, most of the European Union member states recognized Guaido as Venezuela’s interim president.