WASHINGTON, March 16. /TASS/. US Special Representative for Venezuela Elliott Abrams will meet with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov in Rome on March 18-19, the US State Department said on Saturday.

They will "discuss the deteriorating situation in Venezuela," the US State Department said in a press release.

"Special Representative Abrams will also meet with Italian officials, including Prime Minister Diplomatic Advisor Pietro Benassi," the press release 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. On January 28 the US imposed sancitons on Venezuela's state-owned PDVSA oil company.

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.