"The two sides stressed their mutual readiness to promote mutual understanding between the responsible political forces of Venezuela in the interests of ensuring internal peace and resolving urgent social and economic problems as soon as possible," the Russian Foreign Ministry said of the talks between Lavrov and Mohammad Javad Zarif.
On January 23, Venezuelan parliament speaker and opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself interim president at a rally in the country’s capital of Caracas. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, in turn, blasted the move as a coup staged by Washington and said he was severing diplomatic ties with the US.
Several countries, including the Lima Group (excluding Mexico), the United States, Albania, Georgia, Switzerland and the Organization of American States, have recognized him.
Russia, Bolivia, Iran, Cuba, Nicaragua, Salvador and Turkey voiced support for Maduro, while China and Belarus called for resolving all differences peacefully and warned against foreign interference. The United Nations secretary general, in turn, called for dialogue to resolve the crisis.