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VENEZUELA'S POLITICAL CRISIS

Head of Venezuelan Constituent Assembly invites Russian observers for 2020 election

The politician expressed hope that the opposition would not intentionally ignore this election

Diosdado Cabello wikimedia.org/Luigino Bracci/CC BY 2.0

Diosdado Cabello

© wikimedia.org/Luigino Bracci/CC BY 2.0

MOSCOW, October 17. /TASS/. Caracas expects that Russian observers will be present at the Venezuelan parliamentary election in 2020, President of Venezuela’s Constituent Assembly Diosdado Cabello said on Thursday at a meeting with Chairman of the Federation Council’s Committee for Foreign Affairs Konstantin Kosachev.

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Russian deputy premier meets with Venezuelan president Maduro in Caracas

"We will have an election next year, and we hope that you [Russia] will be able to be present as observers," he said.

"According to the constitution, the election to the National Assembly should take place in 2020, and I’m confident that this time we [the United Socialist Party of Venezuela] will be able to correct the mistake that we made in the past, in 2015, and will win," Cabello added.

Earlier at a meeting with State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, the politician expressed hope that the opposition would not intentionally ignore this election.

The situation in Venezuela escalated after on January 23, 2019, Juan Guaido, Venezuelan opposition leader, whose appointment to the position of parliamentary speaker had been cancelled by the country’s Supreme Court two days before, declared himself acting president at a rally in the country’s capital of Caracas. The US recognized him as acting president, as did Lima Group members (except for Mexico), the Organization of American States and most EU countries. Incumbent Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, in turn, blasted the move as a coup staged by Washington and said he was severing diplomatic ties with the US. Russia, Belarus, Bolivia, Iran, Cuba, China, Nicaragua, Syria and Turkey voiced support for Maduro.

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