US Trying to Directly Manage Situation in Venezuela

"This is Washington's attempt to start directly managing the political situation in Venezuela which the US elites consider as their future vassal in the region," Zakharova said.

"They already 'restored' democracy in Iraq, as well as in Libya. They failed in Syria, or, it will be more accurate to say, they were not allowed to do it. Now it is Venezuela's turn," she added, TASS news agency reported.

On January 23 Venezuelan National Assembly Speaker Juan Guaido proclaimed himself as the country's acting president. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has described it as a coup attempt and announced severing diplomatic relations with the United States.

Meantime, Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez said that the armed forces do not recognize Guaido as interim president.

Guaido was recognized as interim president by the Lima Group countries (except for Mexico), as well as by Albania, Georgia, the United States, and the Organization of American States.

Several EU countries came forward with support for the Venezuelan parliament and expressed hope for new elections to resolve the crisis. Maduro was supported by Russia, Bolivia, Iran, Cuba, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Turkey. Belarus and China called for resolving all issues by peaceful means and spoke against any interference from the outside. The UN secretary general called for dialogue to resolve the crisis.

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