Iran Press/Europe: The Russian and US Presidents talked on the phone on Friday and they certainly discussed Venezuela, where a military coup attempt was averted earlier this week.
Foreign meddling and attempts at forceful regime change in Venezuela only undermine any prospects of resolving the crisis through political means, Putin said.
“Only Venezuelans themselves have the right to determine the future of their country,” he told Trump, according to the Kremlin website.
There were clashes in Caracas on Tuesday and Wednesday as self-proclaimed interim president Juan Guaido announced the so-called “Operation Liberty.” But the coup attempt swiftly fizzled out, after failing to garner enough support from the public and from within the military, which largely remained loyal to the elected president Nicolas Maduro.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claimed that Maduro was about to flee Venezuela for Cuba during the escalation and that it was Russians who told him to stay. Sergey Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister, said these statements were false.
Since the beginning of the crisis in January, Washington has outright backed Guaido’s claim to power and it’s itching to see the socialist government in oil-rich Venezuela ousted.
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Russia slams US 'destructive' interference in Venezuela
