Russia Warns Coup-Cheering Washington Not To Meddle In Venezuela

Russia has slammed the US government for bullying Venezuela and warned against encouraging its opposition to stage a coup against President Nicolas Maduro.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday “Nations should avoid meddling in other nations’ internal affairs” saying that it indicated that the US policy of destabilizing governments it does not like, is still a priority.

He added that Washington’s encouragement of opposition forces in Venezuela indicated that the US policy of destabilizing governments it does not like is still a priority

RT reports: Venezuela is currently in a political crisis, with the opposition-controlled National Assembly declaring President Maduro a “usurper” and its speaker, Juan Guaido, an “interim president” of the country. The move came after strong public support from Washington, which has been advocating toppling Maduro for quite some time.
Washington has targeted Maduro’s government with a series of crippling economic and personal sanctions, and reportedly considered a military intervention in the country.

The National Assembly’s mandate to represent Venezuelans remains in question. In 2017, the country reformed its parliament system by introducing a new body called the Constitutional Assembly, which is controlled by pro-government politicians. The opposition and its backers in Washington rejected the reform as a power grab and declared the new legislature illegal.

Explaining Russia’s position on the conflict, Lavrov said US involvement in Venezuela was “very alarming and indicated that the US policy of destabilizing governments it does not like remains a priority.”

Venezuela suffered years of economic and social hardships, which the opposition blames on Maduro’s poor governance. He blames the hardship on sabotage of big business and foreign interests, which want to see his socialist government ousted from power.