MOSCOW, August 28. /TASS/. Washington must cancel its unlawful sanctions against Caracas, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a news briefing on Wednesday.

She recalled that the unilateral US sanctions were creating ever more problems for the country’s population.

"Once again we are urging an end to unlawful measures for the sake of improving the humanitarian situation in Venezuela. Contrary to any logic the administration [of US President Donald Trump] has been declaring ever more ways of stepping up pressure on Caracas. There have been threats of a sea blockade. Has the experience of a failed half-a-century-long blockade of Cuba not taught Washington a lesson?" Zakharova asked.

The Venezuelan radicals, she remarked, are out to topple the legitimate government by artificially fanning tensions in the country.

"This is well seen in the National Assembly’s decision to resume participation in the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance. This agreement, so-called Rio Pact, was concluded by the countries of the Western Hemisphere in 1947 for joint defense. The Venezuelan opposition looks ready to use its clauses for political struggle and has been calling for the creation of an international coalition for humanitarian intervention," she said.

"The way we see it, it is an extremely destructive move and a very dangerous precedent for the whole region," Zakharova warned.