Earlier, US Special Representative for Venezuela Elliott Abrams suggested that the US might impose sanctions against Russia over the arrival of its military specialists in Venezuela, stating that "the Russians will pay a price for this".
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stated during an interview with journalist Hugh Hewitt that the US will be combating Russian influence in the western hemisphere in light of its recent actions in Venezuela.
"You know the history of how Russia moves around. You know the history of Russia's efforts here in the Western Hemisphere. Sadly, the previous administration allowed the Russians to have influence in Cuba and other places throughout the Western Hemisphere. We are very focused on pushing back against that", he said.
The secretary of state alleged that Russian efforts are directed not only at Venezuela, but also at other South American states as well, such as Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela, Chile, Brazil, and Colombia. Pompeo noted that he would be discussing this "threat" with heads of these countries during his upcoming trip to the region.
The US top diplomat also revealed that President Donald Trump had previously attempted to convince Moscow to "leave" Venezuela, calling the presence of Russian military specialists in the country a "threat", but without success.
"It's, I've tried to convince them it's not in their best interest. I think I failed at that. And so now we will turn to the other tools of American power to ensure that the Venezuelan people get a chance to have the democracy they deserve", he said.
Earlier, the US president's National Security Advisor John Bolton warned countries "external to the Western Hemisphere" against deploying military forces in Venezuela or "elsewhere in the Hemisphere" in a statement made on 29 March. He called such deployments "a direct threat to international peace and security in the region" and accused Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro of trying to remain in power by using "Russian military personnel and equipment".
His comments were followed by statements by the US special representative for Venezuela, who suggested that Washington could impose additional sanctions against Russia for its actions in Venezuela.
Russian servicemen arrived to the Latin American country in March with the goal of carrying out maintenance on Russian military equipment previously acquired by Caracas under a 2001 agreement. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated that Russia was simply adhering to the provisions of the agreement and that it had acted "on an absolutely legitimate and legal basis".
The minister further lambasted Bolton's "western hemisphere" rhetoric as arrogant, pointing out that the US has spread its influence and military bases all over the globe. Lavrov also expressed confidence that most regional countries would not allow a US military intervention in Venezuela, something which American officials haven't ruled out in their statements.
‘Venezuela won’t become 2nd Syria’: Lavrov sure S. America won’t back military invasion v. Maduro
Tensions over Venezuela won’t escalate into a new Caribbean Crisis or turn the country into “a second Syria,” Russia’s FM Sergey Lavrov has assured, bashing the US for treating the Western Hemisphere as its backyard.
“We don’t accept the methods, with which the US is trying to improve the life of the Venezuelan people,” Lavrov said in an interview with Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper.
Lavrov pointed out that even those countries on the continent that oppose Maduro and want a snap election in Venezuela got “really stressed out” when the Americans mentioned the use of force.
“I guarantee you that if there’ll be an attempt of a military intervention, the vast majority of Latin American states will outright reject it,” he said.
Despite the strong rhetoric from Washington, “I don’t think that the Caribbean Crisis will be recreated,” Lavrov said, adding that “there can also be no talk about ‘a second Syria’ in Venezuela.”
The Caribbean Crisis put the US and Soviet Union on the brink of a nuclear war in 1962 after Moscow placed its missiles in Cuba in response to Washington deploying ballistic missiles in Italy and Turkey.
The top Russian diplomat also stressed that it was “insolent” of the US to treat the Western Hemisphere as its own backyard – one which other countries shouldn’t have access to.
The minister also responded to US National Security Adviser, John Bolton, who commented on reports of 100 Russian troops and cargo landing in Venezuela in late March, by saying that “the US will not tolerate hostile foreign military powers meddling with the Western Hemisphere’s shared goals of democracy, security, and the rule of law.”
Lavrov again clarified that the Russian military hardware was supplied to Venezuela legally under the 2001 military-technical cooperation with then president, Hugo Chavez.
This equipment requires scheduled servicing by Russian specialists and “now the time has come for such maintenance. That’s it,” he said, explaining the arrival of the Russian military specialists.
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