Lavrov: Venezuela Won't Become 2nd Syria

In an interview with Moskovsky Komsomolets, Russia's Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov assured that South American countries would not risk a military escalation in Venezuela. The stakes for such interference would be too high. 

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The attempted coup against the Venezuelan government has been out in the open from the start.

Aggressive rhetoric by the Trump administration was followed with harsh economic sanctions, especially against Venezuela's oil sector, making imports of food and medicines even more difficult.

A so-called 'humanitarian aid' intervention by the U.S. and its regional allies was an orchestrated propaganda event against the government of Nicolas Maduro. Even the New York Times had to admit the news about government security forces burning an aid truck was 'fake news' picked up by hundreds of news outlets worldwide.

The Russian Federation sent an estimated 100 troops to Venezuela for maintenance of its military equipment, a move that is covered under the two countries military-technical cooperation agreement signed in 2001. This prompted a quick response by the U.S. administration, threatening sanctions against Russia. Trump's Special Envoy to Venezuela and convicted war-criminal, Elliot Abrams, even resorted to threats against the country, saying they would "pay a high price" for their support of Venezuela. 

While the rhetoric over Venezuela has become more aggressive since the failed coup at the end of January, Russia's foreign minister now stated that he can guarantee "that if there’ll be an attempt of military intervention, the vast majority of Latin American states will outright reject it.” This, consequently, puts to the test the repeated threat made by the Trump Administration of all options being on the table.

Lavrov also strongly reiterated that “there can also be no talk about ‘a second Syria’ in Venezuela,” a country which suffered hundreds of thousands of deaths since the start of the war in 2011, as well as millions of refugees. 

The foreign minister stressed the unacceptable position of the U.S. calling it "insolent" to consider Latin America as their own backyard. “We don’t accept the methods, with which the U.S. is trying to improve the life of the Venezuelan people,” Lavrov said in the interview.

According to Lavrov, the United States does not want Venezuela to reach a national consensus. "It wants its puppet who will do everything [the Americans] will tell him, primarily regarding oil, to rule the country," he added.

However, not just Russia voiced their concern and rejection over recent statements made by the U.S. administration. The Deputy of the Foreign Ministry Information Department of the Chinese People's Republic, Geng Shuang, also fired back, saying that "Latin America does not belong to any country, nor is it the backyard of a state."