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VENEZUELA'S POLITICAL CRISIS

Maduro controls situation in Venezuela — Russian ambassador

Russia's Ambassador to Caracas Vladimir Zaemsky said the Montevideo mechanism can help resolve the crisis in Venezuela

© Valery Sharifulin/TASS

CARACAS, February 20. /TASS/. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro controls the situation in the country, Russia's Ambassador to Caracas Vladimir Zaemsky told TASS.

Zaemsky noted that Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido "has repeatedly called on Russia and China to recognize him [as interim president] because he says he is the one who can guarantee the interests" of the two countries in Venezuela.

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Moscow will only recognize new Venezuelan presidential election if Maduro calls it

When responding to a question on whether the opposition would be able to guarantee Russia's interests if it comes to power in Venezuela, the ambassador said that he is "not used to speculating about hypothetical situations because the current situation in the country is controlled by the governement of Nicolas Maduro."

"We see the Montevideo mechanism as the most suitable initiative for Venezuela because it is aimed at dialogue and does not put forward any ultimatum demands, unlike the International contact group on Venezuela initiated by the European Union," Zaemsky said.

The Montevideo mechanism was created by Uruguay, Bolivia and the Caribbean Community countries. The International contact group on Venezuela first met on February 7 in the Uruguayan capital. Among participants in the meeting were representatives of several EU countries, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Uruguay, and Ecuador.

On January 23 Venezuelan National Assembly Speaker Juan Guaido proclaimed himself as the country's acting president. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has described it as a coup attempt and announced severing diplomatic relations with the United States.

Guaido was recognized as interim president by the Lima Group countries (except for Mexico), as well as by Albania, Georgia, the United States, and the Organization of American States. Several EU countries came forward with support for the Venezuelan parliament and expressed hope for new elections to resolve the crisis. Maduro was supported by Russia, Bolivia, Iran, Cuba, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Turkey. Belarus and China called for resolving all issues by peaceful means and spoke against any interference from the outside. The UN secretary general called for dialogue to resolve the crisis.

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Venezuela Political crisis in Venezuela

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