Russia accused the US of hypocrisy over its instigation of a coup in Venezuela, saying such actions are in sharp contrast to the outrage which Americans express over alleged interference in their own domestic political affairs.
The criticism came Thursday from Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who commented on Washington’s support for Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido.
Не declared himself acting president on Wednesday and was instantly recognized by Washington and its allies in Latin America.
The US, which is paranoid about somebody interfering in their elections, even though they have no proof of that, themselves are trying to rule the fates of other peoples. What they actually do is interfere in their internal affairs. There is no need for [US special counsel Robert] Mueller to determine that.
The Russian minister said the speed of the developments on Wednesday indicated that the opposition’s move was likely orchestrated by foreign actors.
The US has been actively undermining the government of President Nicolas Maduro for years and encouraging the opposition to depose him.
Lavrov said the Venezuelan opposition should decide which nation’s interests are paramount to them.
“We hope the Venezuelan opposition prioritize national interests and call on them not to be pawns in someone else’s dirty game,” he said, adding that Russia will support any attempts by the conflicting parties to resolve their differences, as long as they don’t resort to violence.
Similar criticisms of US involvement in Venezuela was earlier voiced by the Foreign Ministry in a statement which said that Washington is acting in a way similar to its other operations to topple foreign governments that it does not like.
Meanwhile Dmitry Peskov, the spokesman for the Kremlin, said that Moscow considered Maduro the legitimate head of state in Venezuela and rejected the suggestion that Russia may extend political asylum to him.
Responding to questions from the media, Peskov said Caracas has not asked for Russia’s help to deal with the political crisis. At the moment Moscow considers the situation in the country to be an internal matter and does not plan to intervene diplomatically or in any other way, he said.
Several countries, including China, Turkey and Iran, have criticized the US for its attempt to topple Maduro’s government. European nations are yet to come up with a consolidated position, but there are signs that the EU will support the attempted coup.
