VLADIVOSTOK, April 21. /TASS/. Washington is calculating the risks of a possible military intervention in Venezuela, but it should not expect support from Latin American states, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with Zvezda TV channel on Sunday.
"Now when the Americans keep saying that all options remain on the table, I have no doubt that they are calculating the consequences of a military adventure," Lavrov said in an interview with a program ‘Glavnoye with Olga Belova.’ "They apparently thought that this would be a blitzkrieg, but this did not happen, and they acknowledge this themselves."
"Hardly anyone in Latin America will back them, they count on one or two countries, as I understand," he said.
Lavrov expressed confidence that should the US carry out a military intervention in Venezuela, the majority of regional states will stop backing Washington’s course towards toppling the regime in Caracas.
Russia’s top diplomat also dismissed as a cheap show the attempts to stage humanitarian aid delivery operations through the border. "I’m convinced that Washington has not understood so far the situation with its line on Venezuela," he said.
Opposition against this diktat has been growing for several months, especially when the US announced that the Monroe Doctrine could be used in this situation, according to Lavrov.
The Monroe Doctrine, the cornerstone of US foreign policy, was coined in 1823 by President James Monroe. Washington declared the entire South America a zone of its exclusive interests. In case any external powers try to interfere in the Americas, this would be viewed as a hostile act against the US, it said.
Venezuela crisis
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. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, in turn, blasted the move as a coup staged by Washington and said he was severing diplomatic ties with the US. On February 4, most of the European Union member states recognized Guaido as Venezuela’s interim president
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.