Casa Amarilla, headquarters of the Foreign Affairs Ministry of Venezuela, in Caracas, Venezuela. File photo.
On Thursday, January 12, the government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela issued a statement through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs categorically condemning the British government’s announcement of its continued—and illegal—recognition of the National Assembly of 2015, whose term had actually expired on January 4, 2021.
Venezuelan Foreign Affairs Minister Yvan Gil posted the statement on his Twitter account.
The Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, led by the Constitutional President @NicolasMaduro , categorically rejects the most recent statement by the British Government in which it maintains its recognition of the extinct National Assembly of the year 2015 pic.twitter.com/Eihg2vM1HG
— Yvan Gil (@yvangil) January 13, 2023
This statement is the Venezuelan government’s response to a statement issued by the British government on Thursday, January 12 that mentioned the majority vote of the 2015 National Assembly to end the so-called “interim government” of Juan GuaidĂł on December 30. However, the 2015 National Assembly’s functions had ended on January 4, 2021 and thus no longer exercises authority as a constitutional legislative body of Venezuela, yet it continues to be recognized by the British government.
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“We respect the result of this vote,” stated the British government. “We continue to regard the National Assembly elected in 2015 as the last democratically elected National Assembly in Venezuela, and note the vote extending its mandate for another year.”
The UK government maintains the position that the 2018 Venezuelan presidential election was not held “in accordance with international democratic standards” and continually rejects the legitimacy of Nicolás Maduro as the head of state of Venezuela. Furthermore, like its US counterpart, it considers the illegitimate “National Assembly of 2015” as the real democratic governing body of Venezuela, although the new term of the National Assembly, elected in November 2020, had come into effect on January 5, 2021.
In this context, the Venezuelan Foreign Affairs Ministry emphasizes that the British statement “represents a flagrant interference in matters of exclusive competence of the Venezuelan State, with the purpose of affecting the true spaces for dialogue convened by President Nicolás Maduro Moros.”
The full statement of the government of Venezuela is provided below.
The Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, led by the Constitutional President, Nicolás Maduro Moros, categorically rejects the most recent statement by the British Government in which it maintains its recognition of the extinct National Assembly of the year 2015.
Said declaration represents a flagrant interference in matters of exclusive competence of the Venezuelan State, with the purpose of affecting the true spaces for dialogue convened by President Nicolás Maduro Moros, as well as the concrete achievements that have been agreed for the protection of the People of Venezuela and the restitution of the national patrimony.
The Bolivarian Government urges the British Government to seek a constructive role and establish with Venezuela, paths of understanding that allow overcoming the pitfalls of the bilateral relationship, such as the misappropriation of gold belonging to the Venezuelan people. The Government of Venezuela will not give up in the defence of its sovereignty and the International Law.
Caracas, January 12, 2023
The statement of the British government comes on the heels of similar declarations by the US government which also announced its continued recognition of the illegitimate “National Assembly of 2015” as the rightful authority of Venezuela and backed its decision to scrap the “interim government” led by former deputy Juan GuaidĂł, whom both the US and UK governments up until a few days ago considered the “interim president” of Venezuela. All these actions demonstrate that the US and its allies are not giving up their violent strategy of “regime change” in Venezuela.
(Alba Ciudad) with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/SC/KZ
