MOSCOW, December 25. /TASS/. Russia strongly condemns US attempts to destabilize the situation around Venezuela and hopes that the pragmatism of American President Donald Trump will help the problem be resolved in a legal manner, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

"Today we are literally witnessing lawlessness in the Caribbean Sea, where the seemingly long-forgotten practices of misappropriation of other people's property, namely piracy, raiding and banditry, are being revived," she told a news briefing. "We strongly condemn such phenomena and call for stability and law and order in the maritime sphere."

She added that Moscow "consistently advocates de-escalation of the current situation, maintaining relations of trust and predictability. It is important to prevent the development of events in a destructive scenario. And we hope that the pragmatism and rationality inherent in US President Trump will make it possible to find mutually acceptable solutions for the parties within the framework of international legal norms."

The Russian diplomat reiterated Moscow's support for "the efforts of the government of Nicolas Maduro aimed at protecting sovereignty and national interests and maintaining the stable and secure development of his country."

Zakharova said that on December 23, a meeting of the UN Security Council was held to discuss strengthening of the US military presence in the Caribbean and the de facto naval blockade of the Bolivarian republic. She said that "the overwhelming majority of countries condemned the unilateral nature of restrictions that grossly violate existing international rights and principles, namely the sovereign equality of states, non-interference in internal affairs, freedom of navigation, and economic rights. From the point of view of international maritime law, such behavior qualifies as a violation of freedom of navigation, enshrined in article 87 of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. We firmly believe that Latin America and the Caribbean should remain a zone of peace, as it was proclaimed in 2014."

About the situation around Venezuela

Washington unfairly accuses the Venezuelan authorities of not actively fighting drug smuggling. The US Navy has deployed a strike group of ships led by aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford, a nuclear submarine, and more than 16,000 military personnel in the Caribbean. Since September, the US army have sunk at least 20 speedboats in the region, killing more than 80 people. Washington closed the airspace over Venezuela and blockaded oil tankers on the sanctions lists.

The American media has repeatedly said that the United States may soon begin attacking drug cartel facilities in Venezuela.

Alexander Shchetinin, director of the Latin American department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, told TASS that Russia expects the US administration to take a pragmatic approach to the situation to avoid serious consequences for the entire region.