Russia urges US not to intervene in Venezuela

MOSCOW

Moscow does not exclude the possibility of U.S. intervention in Venezuela but hopes Washington will abstain from this option, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Sunday.

Speaking at a joint news conference following the meeting with his Venezuelan counterpart Jorge Arreaza in Moscow, Lavrov said the U.S. President Donald Trump did not voice the option of a military intervention in Venezuela in a phone talk with Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 3.

"This is not the first time that representatives of the U.S. administration declare that all options, including the military one, are on the table.

"I really hope that it does not reflect the intention of President Trump. At least in the telephone conversation with President Putin such intentions didn't sound. The conversation was about how to help the Venezuelan people get out of this crisis," Lavrov said.

He also said he would discuss the situation in Venezuela along with a number of other issues regarding international security, with the U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on the sidelines of the 11th ministerial meeting of the Arctic Council in Finland on May 6.

"The use of military force against Venezuela and any other Latin American state would be a humiliation for the entire region, for all of Latin America, for the entire Caribbean. I hope Washington understands that," he said.

Jorge Arreaza called on the U.S. to change its position not only in regard to Venezuela but also to the other countries and act through diplomacy instead of threats.

"The U.S. is experiencing defeat after defeat. Venezuela is ready for dialogue in order to resolve the situation on the basis of its Constitution. The international community must be the guarantor of this dialogue," Arreaza said.

The Venezuelan foreign minister also said that Venezuelan people suffer because of U.S. actions, and $50B of Venezuela's money is frozen in international accounts.

"We need to convey to the U.S. State Department the idea that we are at a time when we need to return to dialogue, respect for international law. The U.S. is leading itself into a dead end, taking actions that are doomed to failure," he said.

Venezuela has been rocked by protests since January when Nicolas Maduro was sworn in for a second term following a vote boycotted by the opposition.

Tensions escalated when Juan Guaido, who heads Venezuela’s National Assembly, declared himself acting president days later, a move supported by the U.S. and many European and Latin American countries.

Turkey, Russia, China, Iran, Bolivia and Mexico have thrown their weight behind Maduro.