Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Tuesday said his position regarding the Syrian regime will remain unchanged.
“How can we not support Bashar al-Assad’s government if it is Syria’s legal government?” Chavez told reporters as quoted by Venezuelan publication Universal.
The Syrian conflict has claimed up to 20,000 lives according to various Syrian opposition groups. The UN puts the death toll at over 18,000 people. The Syrian authorities say 8,000 were killed.
The West is pushing for President Bashar al-Assad’s ouster while Russia and China are trying to prevent outside interference in Syria, saying that the Assad regime and the opposition are both to blame for the bloodshed.
Chavez was re-elected Venezuela’s president on Sunday. With 95.5 percent of ballots counted, Chavez gained 55 percent of the vote, while his main rival, opposition leader Henrique Capriles, received some 44.4 percent.
