"An invasion cannot be ruled out, especially as some aggressive powers plan to overthrow the current government but cannot achieve this through sanctions alone," Zaemskiy told Sputnik.
The diplomat said Russia was working to deepen its ties with Venezuela for the sake of regional and global stability. He said Russia wanted international relations to be based on multilateralism, rather than unilateral sanctions and "foreign dictate."
Vladimir Zaemsky said that more Russian jets may be sent to Venezuela as part of bilateral defence cooperation.
"Within Russian-Venezuelan cooperation in this area, such missions are not ruled out in the future, and, as before, in full compliance with international norms," the diplomat said.
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Vladimir Zaemsky dismissed Wednesday reports on Moscow's alleged plans to create a Russian military base in Venezuela.
"Information on the alleged negotiations on creating a military base in Venezuela, disseminated by some media, is pure speculation. To understand the situation, I would only note that the ban on any foreign military bases is enshrined in the current Venezuelan constitution," the diplomat said.
Following a flight of several Russian strategic jets to Venezuela for joint drills earlier in December, several Latin American media alleged that Russia had plans to set up its base on the Venezuelan island of La Orchila in the Caribbean Sea.
