Russia, China oppose military intervention in Venezuela

Russia and China have expressed opposition to any military intervention in Venezuela, calling for “inclusive political dialog” between conflicting parties and their adherence to the principles of international law to resolve the political crisis in the Latin American country.

The expression of stance came in a joint statement by Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, after the conclusion of their talks in Moscow on Wednesday.

Moscow and Beijing aim “to monitor the development of the situation in Venezuela, to call all sides to adhere to the UN Charter, the norms of international law and inter-governmental relations, to respect the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other states, to aid a peaceful solution of the country’s issues by means of inclusive political dialog and to stand against a military intervention in Venezuela,” the statement said.

Venezuela has been in a political chaos in recent months. Things took a turn for the worse when the United States-backed opposition figure Juan Guaido unilaterally declared himself the “interim president” of the country in January.

Russia and China, among other countries, back Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his democratically-elected government.

The US has been propping up Guaido, has recognized his self-proclamation, encouraged his attempts to topple Maduro — including through a recent abortive coup — and has repeatedly refused to rule out military action against the Venezuelan government.

Representatives of the Venezuelan government and opposition have, meanwhile, been attempting to negotiate a peaceful end to their differences in Norway. But those talks have failed so far.

PressTV-Venezuela government-opposition talks fail in Norway

Representatives of the Venezuelan government and opposition fail to reach an agreement in Norway to resolve the Latin American country’s political and economic crisis.

‘US admits Venezuela opposition is divided’

In a separate development on Wednesday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reportedly warned during a closed-door meeting that divisions within Venezuela’s opposition were hurting efforts to oust Maduro.

In a leaked audio obtained by The Washington Post, Pompeo is heard saying at a meeting with Jewish leaders last week that keeping the opposition in one pack had proven to be “devilishly difficult.”

“Our conundrum, which is to keep the opposition united, has proven devilishly difficult,” Pompeo says in the audio. “The moment Maduro leaves, everybody’s going to raise their hands and [say], ‘Take me, I’m the next president of Venezuela.’ It would be 40-plus people who believe they’re the rightful heir to Maduro.”

PressTV-US policy sowing discord in LatAm region: Russia

Russia says Washington's Venezuela policies are meant to sow discord among Latin American nations.

The US secretary of state also blamed the lack of consensus among Maduro’s enemies for the failure of the coup attempt in Venezuela.

On April 30, a small group of armed troops accompanying Guaido clashed with soldiers at an anti-government rally in Caracas. The attempted putsch soon petered out.

Maduro, who has called Guaido a puppet of Washington, announced in a televised speech later in the day that the group of military personnel supporting Guaido had been defeated, and 25 renegade soldiers had sought refuge at the Brazilian Embassy in Caracas.

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