He made the remarks at the UNSC meeting on the situation in Venezuela on January 26, in response to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who blamed Russia for blocking the joint statement of UNSC.
"I would to correct Secretary of State Mr. Pompeo," the Russian envoy said. "We blocked the Chairman’s statement proposed by the United States. We made meaningful amendments in it. We are confident they would be unconditionally supported by the majority of the Council members and some of them have already done it," Nebenzia noted.
"The ball is in the court of the US delegation; it’s time for it," the diplomat said. "However, we are not confident that such statement based on balanced assessments of UN Secretary-General and affirming sovereignty of Venezuela and inadmissibility of interference in its domestic affairs and respect to its Constitution is what the US delegation seeks," he added.
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.
MNA/TASS
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