Russia Considers Possible US Military Action Against Venezuela To Be Real Scenario- Moscow

Moscow does not consider possible US military intervention in Venezuela to be "an abstract" threat as it could be a real scenario, Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova said on Thursday

YALTA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th April, 2019) Moscow does not consider possible US military intervention in Venezuela to be "an abstract" threat as it could be a real scenario, Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.

Zakharova, in particular, recalled the words of US Southern Command Commander Admiral Craig Faller, who said in February that the United States should not rule out Russia's military intervention in the situation in Venezuela and claimed that Russia and China were undermining regional security.

"This hard and aggressive tone of a representative of the [US] armed forces confirms our fears that a US military action in Venezuela is not an abstraction, but a possible reality that Washington admits," Zakharova said.

In March, when asked about the possibility of a military intervention in Venezuela, US President Donald Trump said that "all options are open."

Zakharova noted that Moscow strongly urges the United States to abandon its plans to use force against Venezuela.

"Despite the complexity of the socio-economic and humanitarian situation in Venezuela, it does not constitute a threat to international stability and security, while this cannot be said about ultimatums put to the legitimate government [of Venezuela] and public promises to use force against a sovereign state by other states.

We strongly urge our US colleagues to abandon these irresponsible plans that are contrary to international law," the spokeswoman added.

Venezuela's acute political and economic crisis worsened after US-backed opposition leader Juan Guaido illegally declared himself interim president of Venezuela in late January. In addition, Washington, after recognizing Guaido, immediately seized billions of Dollars' worth of Venezuela's oil assets.

Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro has accused the United States of trying to orchestrate a coup in order to install Guaido as a US puppet so that Washington can take control of Venezuela's oil resources. Russia, China, Cuba, Bolivia, Turkey and a number of other countries have voiced their support for Maduro as the only legitimate president of Venezuela.