CARACAS, July 31. /TASS/. Venezuela severed diplomatic relations with Peru after Peruvian Foreign Minister Javier Gonzalez-Olaechea called opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez a true president of the Bolivarian Republic, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil Pinto announced.
"The government of Venezuela decided to cut diplomatic relations with the Republic of Peru, based on Article 45 of the 1961 Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations," he said on his X page.
According to the foreign minister, Caracas had to resort to this step because of the "irresponsible statements of the Peruvian foreign minister, who does not recognize the will of the people of Venezuela" and its Constitution.
Previously, Javier Gonzalez-Olaechea said in an interview that "Mr. Gonzalez is the elected president of Venezuela."
Venezuela's presidential election was held on July 28. According to a statement released by the National Electoral Council after 80% of the ballots were counted, incumbent President Nicolas Maduro was supported by 5,150,092 voters, or 51.2%. His main opponent, Edmundo Gonzalez, who represents right-wing parties, received 4,445,978 votes, or 44.2%. Opposition leader Corina Machado did not recognize the results, claiming fraud and declaring Gonzalez the winner.