January 23, 2022
Three years after proclaiming himself interim president of Venezuela, opposition figure Juan Guaidó does not represent anyone, Russian Ambassador to Caracas Sergey Melik-Bagdasárov told Sputnik News.
“Today, he is a nobody and does not represent anyone. This figure exists only in virtual space and in the feverish minds of his American supporters,” Melik-Bagdasarov said.
In the opinion of the Russian diplomat, Venezuelan society “does not take Juan Guiadó seriously”.
Even the few radicals who had remained by his side until mid-2021, according to Melik-Bagdasarov, have turned their backs on him for good.
“The project of a parallel government in Venezuela has been a resounding failure. The politicians who embody it are now totally discredited,” he claimed
The Russian ambassador continued the interview by describing the ‘Guaidó project’ as “built-in projection of a parallel government that lacks legitimacy, real power and tangible prospects within the country. Another version of a color revolution edited in the West and totally discredited in the eyes of the people.
Venezuelans themselves, the Russian diplomat recalled, repeatedly expressed their will in free elections, most recently last November.
“Venezuelans have opted for sovereignty and true popular democracy. From Russia we support by all means that choice of our Venezuelan friends,” Melik-Bagdasarov said.
The political crisis in Venezuela escalated on January 23, 2019, when the then head of the National Assembly, Juan Guaidó, proclaimed himself interim president in an attempt to oust re-elected President Nicolás Maduro from power.
The United States and most Western countries backed Guaidó, imposing sanctions on Venezuela and freezing its assets abroad. Russia, China, Turkey and many other nations supported Maduro as the sole and legitimate president of Venezuela.
Maduro accuses the West of using the sanctions to overthrow him and of having seized Venezuela’s assets and resources.
Source: 360 Noticias, translation Resumen Latinoamericano – English