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Russia to keep supporting Venezuela in settling internal political differences — Lavrov

Russian foreign minister said Moscow took note of the ‘’active and open position of Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro and his government’’ as part of the consultations that started in Mexico City with assistance from Norway and some other countries including Russia

MOSCOW, November 8. /TASS/. Russia intends to continue supporting internal political settlement in Venezuela, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Monday after talks with Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Felix Plasencia.

"We will continue to provide constructive support to the peaceful overcoming of differences in Venezuela with the observance of Venezuela’s sovereignty," he said.

Lavrov said Moscow takes note of the ‘’active and open position of [Venezuela] President [Nicolas] Maduro and his government’’ as part of the consultations that started in Mexico City with assistance from Norway and some other countries including Russia. "We are keen for these talks to succeed. Our friends have briefed us today about how they see the outlook for the respective process," the minister said.

The government and opposition of Venezuela on August 13 started talks in Mexico with Norway’s mediation. In the course of the first round, the sides signed a memorandum of understanding to affirm readiness for dialogue. However, in October, Venezuela’s government announced the suspension of these talks due to the extradition of Venezuelan Alex Saab from Cape Verde to the US. Caracas has described the extradition as abduction and a violation of human rights.