LAVROV: The U.S is Creating a Pretext for Military Intervention in Venezuela

MOSCOW – Russian authorities are closely following US attempts to create a pretext for military intervention in Venezuela and note the ongoing provocations of Washington, which hopes to forcefully break through the country’s border, ostensibly to deliver humanitarian aid. This was announced on February 27th by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov after talks with his colleagues from India and China.

“We are closely following the messages that are really happening there. We see how completely shameless attempts are being made to artificially create a pretext for military intervention. We hear direct threats from Washington that all the options remain on the table, ” Tass quoted the head of the Russian foreign ministry.

Lavrov noted that the materialization of these threats would be  military equipment and the preparation of US special forces, writes Gazeta.ru . 

The Russian Foreign Minister also stressed that not a single Latin American country had openly declared support for a military settlement of the political conflict in Venezuela. In this regard, Lavrov urged the United States to listen to the opinion of the countries of the region themselves and concentrate on holding a national dialogue with the participation of all political forces provided for by the Montevideo mechanism.

On February 21st, opposition leader Juan Guaido signed an illegal decree authorizing the delivery of American humanitarian aid to the country. The country’s president, Nicolas Maduro, called this supply a pretext for destroying Venezuela’s independence and sovereignty, and as a precautionary measure announced the closure of the sea and air borders with the nearby islands of Aruba, Curaçao and Bonaire (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands). In addition, Caracas closed the border with Brazil and three bridges connecting the Bolivarian Republic with Colombia, with which Caracas also broke off diplomatic relations .