US after hiding aggressive plans for Venezuela behind UN resolution: Russia

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says the United States tries to hide its “aggressive” and “interventional” plans for Venezuela behind a draft resolution it proposed to the United Nations Security Council.

The US presented a draft resolution to the Council on Sunday, claiming that the White House sought international aid deliveries and presidential elections in Venezuela while it stressed that Washington had “deep concern with the violence and excessive use of force by Venezuelan security forces against unarmed, peaceful protesters” in the South American country.

Washington reiterated its “full support” for the country’s National Assembly, which is no longer recognized by Caracas, and its head, 35-year-old opposition figure Juan Guaido, who called himself the “interim president” of Venezuela in a bizarre move on January 23, further deepening a weeks-long unprecedented political turmoil in the country.

The United States has time and again said military option still remains on the table regarding the Venezuelan crisis, infuriating the country’s President Nicolas Maduro, who accuses US President Donald Trump of plotting a coup against the government in Caracas.

The US draft resolution, however, drew a counterresolution from Russia that expressed Moscow’s concern for Venezuela’s territorial integrity and political independence, lambasting any “attempts to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of Venezuela.”

On Monday, Lavrov said at a UN Security Council meeting that Washington “tried to push a resolution that hides their aggressive, interventional plans” against the legitimate government of President Maduro.

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The Venezuelan government has vowed not to betray his country by giving in to the US desires to topple power in Caracas.

US lies about Russian resolution

On Tuesday, the Russian top diplomat also said at a joint press conference with his Finnish counterpart Timo Soini in Moscow that Washington was spreading outright lies about Russia’s alternative resolution.

“I have read that some US authorities and members of Venezuelan opposition stated that our resolution aimed to undermine so-called humanitarian measures planned by the US and its allies,” Lavrov said.

He reiterated that Russia’s resolution on Venezuela was aimed at supporting national dialogue inside the country.

Despite the pressure exerted from the outside, Venezuela’s army has remained loyal to Maduro. On Sunday, on his orders the Venezuelan military launched large-scale drills to bolster its combat readiness after Washington once again threatened that it could use military force to oust his elected government.

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The Venezuelan military launches large-scale war games to increase its combat readiness after the US threatened that it could go for a “military option” against the Maduro government.

Guaido and the US have been encouraging members of the Venezuelan armed forces to abandon the legitimate government and join the opposition camp, which also has the support of Washington’s European and Latin American allies.

Maduro, 56, accuses Trump of concealing his real motive of stealing Venezuela’s vast natural resources behind his regime-change posture, because the Latin American country does not “have weapons of mass destruction” and is not a “security threat” to the US.

The White House has called on other countries to follow suit in recognizing Guaido. It has further placed tough sanctions against Venezuela’s state-owned oil firm PDVSA and certified the authority of Guaido to control certain Venezuelan assets held by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York or any other US-insured banks.

Canada and a number of right-leaning Latin American countries have already offered official recognition to Guaido. In a coordinated move on Monday, 17 countries of the 28-member European Union, including France, Spain and Britain, also officially announced their support for Guido.

However, other countries, including Russia, China, Turkey, and Iran, have expressed support for the elected government in Venezuela and condemned outside interference in the country.

During the past couple of weeks, the opposition has held widespread anti-government protests. It blames Maduro for an ailing economy, hyperinflation, power cuts, and shortages of basic items, urging him to step down.

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