MOSCOW, July 30. /TASS/. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is expected to pay one of his first visits after his reelection to Russia, Russian Ambassador to Caracas Sergey Melik-Bagdasarov said.
"Local high-ranking officials told me that one of the first destinations Nicolas Maduro plans to visit after being reelected is Russia. So, let us wait," he said in an interview with the Rossiya-24 television channel.
The Russian diplomat stressed that Maduro is a welcome guest in Russia and Russian President Vladimir Putin noted this in his congratulatory telegram. "We know that he [Maduro] planned to visit our country more than once. But each time it happened, he had to postpone his visit due to various political reasons, first of all, stemming from the United States’ pressure and explicit interference into Venezuelan domestic affairs. As for immediate plans, let us wait until the situation calms own," he said.
Riots flared up in Caracas and other Venezuelan cities on Monday. The protests are challenging the outcome of Sunday’s presidential election where incumbent President Nicolas Maduro was re-elected for another office term.
According to the National Electoral Council’s bulletin issued after counting 80% of ballots, Maduro was supported by 5,150,092 voters, or 51.2%. His rival, Edmundo Gonzalez of the far-right parties, scored 4,445,978 votes, or 44.2%.One of the opposition leaders, Corina Machado, refused to recognize the election results and proclaimed Gonzalez as the winner.