Caracas:

Venezuela to Halt Consular Services in Canada

TEHRAN (defapress) – Caracas will stop providing services in its consulates in Canada, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said on Sunday.

News ID: 77704

Date: 09 June 2019 - 13:37

"Venezuela will stop providing consular services in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal. All diplomatic functions will be concentrated in the Venezuelan Embassy in Ottawa. We hope that Canada will soon restore its sovereignty in foreign policy", Arreaza wrote on Twitter, Sputnik reported.

The move comes in a response to similar actions made by Ottawa.

Earlier this week, Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said that Ottawa decided to temporarily suspend operations at the country’s embassy in Venezuela.

The foreign minister added that Canada would continue to provide consular assistance to Canadians in Venezuela through the embassy in Colombia.

Last week, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Freeland discussed ongoing efforts to support the rebuilding of democracy in Venezuela and support for the opposition leader Juan Guaido.

The situation in Venezuela remains tense since January when Guaido illegally proclaimed himself interim president.

Washington and some other countries including Canada, endorsed Guaido and called on President Nicolas Maduro to step down. The United States has also seized billions of dollars in Venezuelan oil assets.

Maduro has accused the US of trying to orchestrate a coup to install Guaido as its puppet and take control of Venezuela's natural resources.

Russia, China, Iran, Cuba, Bolivia, Turkey and a number of other countries have voiced their support for the constitutionally-elected Maduro as the only legitimate president of Venezuela.

Recently Washington has increased its pressure campaign to oust Maduro and replace him with Guaido. The Trump administration has blocked some Venezuelan oil assets and imposed sanctions on the state-owned oil and gas company PDVSA, delivering a heavy blow to the country's oil-dependent economy.

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