Comment by Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova regarding US policy towards Venezuela (source):
The arrival of Russian experts in military-technical cooperation to Venezuela has caused a nervous reaction in Washington. US officials have gone as far as to say that the United States would regard the appearance of “actors external to the Western Hemisphere” in Venezuela as “provocative” and as “a direct threat to international peace and security in the region.”
First of all, we would like Washington politicians to look at a map. Part of Russia’s territory – the Chukotka Peninsula – is located in the Western Hemisphere. In other words, the American continent is a close neighbour of Russia.
Russia has clearly outlined the mission of its professionals in Caracas. They are not “military assets.” Consequently, the allegations concerning the Russian intent to “establish or expand military operations” in Venezuela are completely groundless.
It appears that Washington is judging others by itself when ascribing to Moscow its own plans with regard to Venezuela. Washington has again stated arrogantly that “all options” are open to make Moscow withdraw its forces. We would like to ask in this context what the numerous US military instructors are doing in neighbouring Colombia and why the White House is urging another neighbour of Venezuela, Brazil, to join NATO, which is contrary to the charter and the very name of the North Atlantic alliance?
In early March, Washington clearly indicated that it was still committed to the colonial Monroe Doctrine, which assigned the role of America’s backyard to Latin America 200 years ago, thereby denying it the right to sovereignty. But Venezuela, which honours the heritage of Simon Bolivar, the famous fighter against the colonisers, has again refused to bow to external dictate and continued to independently decide how it will live and who its friends are. This probably hurts the Washington strategists, but they do not have a time machine to plunge us back into the 19th century.
We fully agree with the US officials who say that Russia does not have “a free hand” in Venezuela. This is undeniably so, because only the legitimate authorities of Venezuela led by President Nicolas Maduro have a free hand in their own country. Any actions there by any external forces, including the United States, are restricted by the norms of international law sealed in the UN Charter, including the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of sovereign states.
At the same time, any attempts to intimidate Russia with sanctions for its legitimate cooperation with Venezuela look absurd. Washington has adopted so many sanctions against Russia for most different reasons that Moscow has stopped counting and no longer takes any notice of them.
Of course, we understand the reason why Washington is so nervous. The plans for a rapid change of regime in Caracas have failed. By its self-assurance, Washington has let down those in Latin America and Western Europe who unwisely hastened to recognise an impostor, whom the people had not elected, as the head of Venezuela. By taking this step, they have deprived themselves of any room for diplomatic manoeuvre.
For our part, we recommend Washington to stop threatening Venezuela, strangling its economy, and pushing the country towards a civil war in flagrant violation of international law. We urge all political forces in Venezuela that put their country’s interests above their own ambitions to enter into a dialogue. We are ready to do everything within our power to promote it.
Venezuela desperately needs military grade cyber security on its major infrastructure facilities – hydro-electric dams/ power grid etc – Russia has means to assist with greater protection. The US has likely been hacking inside Venezala’s state electronic systems for years, since onset of Chavez years, and whole system needs forensic review.
Venezuela’s reliance on the US for its most favored trade and economic partner will cease to exist. Venezuela needs to get out of the dollar loop and noose US has placed around its neck, and deal with Russia and China axis, an axis that follows international law and seeks mutual benefits.
True – the US literally just stole Venezuela’s US based subsidiary company CITGO’s physical assets – which are the US based oil refineries of PDVSA, the Venezuelan state oil company. These sites contain billions of dollars worth or property and refinery infrastructure.
Those stolen assets lost value since there will be no Venezuelan heavy crude going to that refinery.
The SCO and it’s component parts, which includes Russia, are providing a very helpful global alternative to the Jewmerican led Jew world order crime syndicate. This isn’t a substitute for the much needed planetary dejudifcation to free humanity from this evil cult and criminal organization that rapes 1,000 children every week worldwide and is the primary problem facing humanity and the planet. But it does help alleviate the problems caused by Jews and their sycophants.
You spoke with a straight language. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/357f8fe2b4fb5bfe99bb608fdfde48a932d6ed40d7a2c4b15687d8f1a2c39f7b.jpg
the morons in washington dc’s plan has failed, there won’t be a regime change in venezuela although the morons will obstruct the return to normality as múch as possible, sore loosers as they are- and venezuela should be aware that the morons will come back and try to make their lives miserably since moronistan (aka usa) never forgets and never forgives – think north korea, think russia and think a whole host of countries that moronstan carry a grudge against.
but north korea should prepare a claim for compensation for the damages moronistan has caused since 1950 till today, likewise syria, lybia, and so on and so forth. huge amounts of money gone to waste by moronistan huge amounts.
Don’t leave Cuba out of the compensation list for the damage cause to the cuban people with the criminal US BLOCKADE.
” US officials have gone as far as to say that the United States would regard the appearance of “actors external to the Western Hemisphere” in Venezuela as “provocative” and as “a direct threat to international peace and security in the region.”…THIS SHOULD BE THE RUSSIAN RESPOND…Russia/China, officials would regard the appearance of “actors external to the Asian Hemisphere and the Middle East as a direct TREAT to peace and security in the region and the world.
Russia will stay in Venezuela until USA regime change and illegal drug addicts small puppet boy Guiado ends up in jail.
Soon all Venezuela allies warships and jet will enter our brotherly Venezuela to help legitimate President Maduro.Not USA verbally fake drug lot Guiado.
Let Trump elect Guiado to his administration which Trump hire and fire every day.
Notice the key difference between the US approach to Venezuela and Russia’s approach to Venezuela (and Syria, and various other countries come to that): Russia does not presume to tell Venezuela what its internal political economy should be like. Venezuela’s government has a claimed project of establishing socialism combined with participatory democracy, basically, although movement in that direction is slow. Russia’s project is something like typical centre-right capitalism with an internal conflict between more free-marketish elements and more import-substitution-oriented elements (which still makes it unusual because import-substitution is verboten in most of the world these days), combined with a fairly centralized politics.
So arguably, they disagree with the Venezuelans’ ideas as much as the US does. The difference is, the Russians don’t think it’s any of their business. The Russian international approach is a return to the principles of the UN and, before it, Westphalian system of fairly inviolable national sovereignty, whereas the US position is that they should be able to do whatever they want to anyone as long as they occasionally handwave about it being for their own good.