"The conversation turned out to be quite difficult, but frank… It is necessary to stress that for us the need to maintain such a dialogue is clear. We are facing a situation where Washington's approach toward the crisis in Venezuela is a growing concern to us which was clearly said during our consultations", Ryabkov said.
"[The disagreements] are fundamental in many aspects, including on the non-recognition of [opposition leader Juan] Guaido [as Venezuela's interim leader]", Ryabkov stressed.
Venezuela has been in a state of political crisis since January, when Guaido, the head of the opposition-run National Assembly, illegally declared himself interim president. He was immediately recognised by the United States, which froze $7 billion in the country's oil assets and called on to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to step down immediately.
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While dozens of nations have since endorsed Guaido; Russia, China and many others have reaffirmed their support for Maduro as Venezuela's only legitimate president.
