MOSCOW, July 31. /TASS/. Global, and primarily Latin American, reaction to the outcome of the presidential election in Venezuela should target contributing to maintaining peace and stability in the republic, and the government of President Nicolas Maduro demonstrates readiness for that, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a comment.
"We proceed from the fact that in their reaction to the election in Venezuela the international community and primarily Latin American countries should target making a contribution to maintaining peace, finding constructive decisions and preserving public order. The government led by [incumbent President Nicolas] Maduro, as we can see, is ready for that," the Russian diplomat said when asked to comment on the refusal by a number of countries to recognize the election results.
Electing a country’s leadership is the exclusive privilege of its people, while double standards are inadmissible here, Zakharova added.
On July 28, Venezuela held a presidential election. 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%. Opposition leader Corina Machado did not recognize the election results, alleging election fraud, and proclaimed Gonzalez the winner.
On Monday, the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry announced a move to recall its diplomats from Argentina, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Panama, Peru, Uruguay and Chile, countries that refused to recognize Maduro’s re-election, and demanded a reciprocal step from them.
Meanwhile, Russia, Bolivia, Honduras, Iran, China, Cuba and Nicaragua have congratulated Maduro on his presidential win.