MOSCOW, March 19. /TASS/. Only the government of Nicolas Maduro can appoint Venezuela’s ambassadors, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday, commenting on the "appointment" of Venezuela’s representative to the US by opposition leader Juan Guaido.
"Ambassadors are appointed by the governments of the UN member-states, Nicolas Maduro’s government is such," Russia’s top diplomat 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), as well as the Organization of American States, recognized him as president. Venezuela's incumbent President Nicolas Maduro blasted these actions as an attempted coup and said that he was cutting diplomatic ties with the United States.
In contrast, Russia, Belarus, Bolivia, Iran, China, Cuba, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Syria and Turkey voiced support for Maduro.
In late January, Washington recognized Venezuela’s Charge d’Affaires to the US Carlos Alfredo Vecchio appointed by Guaido.