Dominica: 'PPK Not Authorized to Suspend Venezuela from Summit'

Dominica's Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit has criticized his Peruvian counterpart for overstepping his boundaries and excluding Venezuela from the international Summit of the Americas.

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"The president of Peru has no authority to suspend the invitation to a member country; he only has the status of host country, but not authority," Skerrit told teleSUR English.

The prime minister continued, saying Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kusczinki's behavior was disrespectful to Venezuelans and that he would protest Peru's position "so that President Maduro has his full authority and right to represent the people of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela."

Skerrit also reaffirmed his support for the coming presidential elections and his confidence that the process would be conducted within the confines of the law.

"Our position is that once the elections have been called, according to the Constitution, no country has any reason to be involved in the politics of another sovereign country.

"We hope that all parties will participate in the elections and let the Venezuelan people decide what their government and president will be for the next period."

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Earlier this week, Skerrit met with Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza to reinforce the two countries' shared regional ties and business measures, particularly Petrocaribe.

His visit to Dominica makes the Caribbean country the eighth stop on his tour of the region since February 1 in an effort to strengthen foreign relations during this time of political turmoil.

Uruguay, Bolivia and Cuba also reaffirmed their support for the Bolivarian nation, criticizing the decision made by the Lima Group to exclude Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from April's Summit of the Americas, organized by the Organization of American States (OAS).

The 14 countries from the Americas, which form part of the Lima Group, announced on Feb. 13 that Maduro is no longer welcome at the upcoming summit, citing his unwillingness to cancel the presidential elections scheduled for April 22.