MOSCOW, March 16. /TASS/. External political pressure on Venezuela has been denounced by a senior Russian Foreign Ministry diplomat, warning against "destructive outside interference" and moves in the United States to exert sanctions pressure.
"We watch with concern tendencies that are destabilizing the situation in Venezuela," director of the ministry's Latin American department Alexander Schetinin told guests at the opening of a photographic exhibition named after former head of state Hugo Chavez on Monday.
"Any form of coercive action and coups d’etat to depose the legitimate governments of sovereign nations" was unacceptable, he told visitors to the Gubkin University of Oil and Gas in Moscow, assembled for a display linked to the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations established between Russia and the Latin American nation.
Attempts in Washington "to boost political and sanctions pressure on Caracas were out of tune with the stance adopted by many international community members", he said, noting "solidarity with the Venezuelan people and its legally elected leadership" and mutual friendship during that country's economic recovery and the "hard trials" it faced.
"We are calling for internal disagreements in Venezuela to be resolved through dialogue in the framework of the country’s constitution and without destructive outside interference," Schetinin said, adding that "our Venezuelan friends can be assured of Russia’s continued support."