BRUSSELS, February 1. /TASS/. The latest developments in Venezuela should not lead to a civil war, Russia's Permanent Representative at the EU Vladimir Chizhov said on Friday.
"The main task is to prevent the developments in Venezuela from turning into a civil war. We see the possibility of avoiding this scenario by establishing dialogue," Chizhov said.
On January 23 Venezuelan National Assembly Speaker Juan Guaido proclaimed himself as the country's acting president. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has described it as a coup attempt and announced severing diplomatic relations with the United States.
Guaido was recognized as interim president by the Lima Group countries (except for Mexico), as well as by Albania, Georgia, the United States, and the Organization of American States. Several EU countries came forward with support for the Venezuelan parliament and expressed hope for new elections to resolve the crisis. Maduro was supported by Russia, Bolivia, Iran, Cuba, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Turkey. Belarus and China called for resolving all issues by peaceful means and spoke against any interference from the outside. The UN secretary general called for dialogue to resolve the crisis.