US Calls on Russia to Withdraw from Venezuela

During a meeting at the White House on Wednesday with Guaido’s wife, Fabiana Rosales, Trump told reporters that “Russia has to get out” of Venezuela. 

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When asked how he would make Russian forces leave, Trump said: "We’ll see. All options are open." 

In response, Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for Russia’s Foreign Ministry, said that "before giving advice to somebody to withdraw from somewhere, the United States should bring to life its own concept of exodus, particularly from Syria," speaking on Russia’s state Channel One, TASS agency quoted her as saying.

"As in colonial times 200 years ago, the U.S. continues to regard Latin America as a zone for its exclusive interests, its own ‘backyard’ and they directly demand that it should obey the U.S. without a word and that other countries should steer clear of the region," Zakharova said. "[D]oes the U.S. think that people are waiting for it to bring democracy to them on the wings of its bombers? This question can be answered by Iraqis, Libyans and Serbs," she added. 

The arrival of two Russian air force planes outside Caracas on Saturday believed to be carrying nearly 100 Russian special forces and cybersecurity personnel has escalated the political crisis Venezuela is going through.

Mike Pence described as an "inopportune provocation" the presence of Russian military in Venezuela.

Maria Zakharova declared that Russia presence in Venezuela is "in strict accordance" with the Venezuelan constitution.

Venezuelan Foreign Affairs Minister Jorge Arreaza criticized the U.S. position asserting that "such cynicism that a country with more than 800 military bases around the world, much of them in Latin America, and a growing military budget of more than US$700 billion, intends to interfere with the military-technical cooperation program between Russia and Venezuela."

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov denounced Monday that "Washington’s attempts to organize a coup d'état in Venezuela and (U.S.) threats against the legitimate government are in violation of the UN Charter." And went on to say that the U.S. is conducting an "undisguised interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign state."

While China also weighed in on the matter. A spokesman of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Geng Shuang, declared Tuesday that Latin American nations are sovereign countries, able to decide by their own account with which States to collaborate, adding that the region "does not belong to any country and it is not anyone's backyard."

Russia and China have backed President Nicolas Maduro, while the United States and most other Western countries support opposition lawmaker Juan Guaido. In January, Guaido invoked the constitution to assume Venezuela’s interim presidency, arguing that Maduro’s 2018 re-election was illegitimate.

The United States was the first nation to recognize Guaido as self-proclaimed interim president and imposed sanctions against the country and other diplomatic measures in hopes of overthrowing Maduro by any possible means.