MOSCOW, March 26. /TASS/. The United States won’t make Russia reverse its stance to support the legitimate authorities in Venezuela through their threats to slap more sanctions on Russia, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a commentary in connection with the Russia-Venezuelan Threat Mitigation Act passed by the House of Representatives.

"Continuing its aggressive rhetoric towards Venezuela, openly making efforts to organize a coup in that country, the US is simultaneously trying to threaten those who are cooperating with its legitimate authorities, including Russia," the diplomat said.

"The US Congress is considering on a fast-track basis a bill on measures to influence the participants in Russia-Venezuela cooperation, believing that Moscow can be influenced through sanctions, to which Russia has already adjusted itself and has stopped paying attention to," she added.

The diplomat also drew attention to statements about "hostile foreign military powers meddling" with the Western Hemisphere’s affairs from high-ranking representatives from the US administration, who have failed in an attempt to see a coup in Venezuela, including owing to a firm stance of Russia in protection of international law,

"All this vividly reflects Washington’s attitude towards Venezuela and all Latin American states that are in fact denied sovereignty," she stated. Mentioning the topicality of the Monroe Doctrine, Washington politicians continue seeing Latin America as a zone of its special interests. "It is not quite clear what the US is doing in the Eastern Hemisphere in this case," she remarked.

The House of Representatives of the US Congress voted on Monday for the bill obliging the State Department to assess the alleged threat of Russia’s influence in Venezuela, as well as its implications for the US and its allies.

‘Russian-Venezuelan Threat Mitigation Act’ obliges Washington’s administration to assess "the security risks posed by potential Russian acquisition of Citgo's United States energy infrastructure holdings." The main shareholder of Citgo is Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA. The Congress requests the US State Department to provide "a threat assessment and strategy to counter Russian influence in Venezuela."

The bill must be passed by the Senate and then be signed by the President to become law.