Russian Lawmaker Calls New US Bill On Russia's Influence In Venezuela 'Legal Nonsense'

The United States is trying to prohibit cooperation between two independent states, Russia and Venezuela, and its decision to try and cement this effort in the form of a law is legal nonsense, Oleg Morozov, a member of the Russian upper house's foreign affairs committee, told Sputnik on Tuesday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 26th March, 2019) The United States is trying to prohibit cooperation between two independent states, Russia and Venezuela, and its decision to try and cement this effort in the form of a law is legal nonsense, Oleg Morozov, a member of the Russian upper house's foreign affairs committee, told Sputnik on Tuesday.

On Monday, the US House of Representatives unanimously passed the Russian-Venezuelan Threat Mitigation Act, which aims to combat Russian influence in Venezuela. The bill would require US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to assess Russia-Venezuela cooperation and Moscow's military presence in the Latin American country.

"The passage of such a bill is legal nonsense. It turns out that a US national bill calls for preventing absolutely legitimate cooperation between two UN member states.

That is, a bill is the form of a sanctions policy, which is illegal by definition," Morozov said.

Morozov added that neither Russia nor Venezuela would be guided by the opinion of US lawmakers when deciding on cooperation.

Venezuela has been suffering from a severe political crisis since January, when the leader of the country's opposition, Juan Guaido, illegally proclaimed himself interim president, contesting the re-election of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro last year.

The self-proclaimed interim president immediately received support on the part of the United States, which has also denounced Maduro's re-election, along with a number of other countries. China, Cuba, Russia and a number of other countries have endorsed Maduro as Venezuela's only legitimate president.