“We are happy that people of Venezuela defeated the coup,” he told reporters on Wednesday on the sideline of 2019 Asia Cooperation Dialogue meeting in Doha, Qatar, AFP reported.
“But we continue to believe, as I said, the need to have further discussion among people, as the government has suggested,” added Zarif.
Venezuelan President Maduro said that he had appointed prosecutors to investigate a coup attempt in his country. He noted that the coup was led by a Venezuelan opposition figure Leopoldo Lopez, adding that five military staff were injured during unrest, two of them were in critical condition.
On Tuesday morning, Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido and his supporters gathered in Caracas on a highway in front of La Carlota military base. Previously, Guaido called on the people of Venezuela and the army to take to the streets to complete the operation to overthrow the legitimate head of state, Maduro.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Seyyed Abbas Mousavi said on Tuesday that “The best solution is to establish dialogue and create the necessary mechanisms between all parties in order to solve the problems of the people by the forces committed to the development and prosperity of this country under the direction of the Venezuelan legitimate government."
Large-scale protests against Maduro began in Venezuela on January 21 soon after he was sworn in for a new term. Guaido proclaimed himself an interim leader of the country. A number of Western countries, including the United States, backed his claim. Maduro, in turn, has accused the United States of trying to orchestrate a coup in order to install Guaido as its puppet. Russia, China, Iran and a number of other countries have voiced their support for Maduro as the only legitimate president of Venezuela.
MAH/PR
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