"The legal grounds and objectives of the Russian military engineers in Venezuela have explained once again at the request of the British side. [We have] stressed that the Russian Federation was not interfering in Venezuelan internal affairs and was building cooperation on the basis of legitimate bilateral agreements", the embassy's spokesperson told reporters.
READ MORE: US Corporate Interests Drive Media Bias in Venezuela Crisis Coverage — Analyst
Earlier in a day, the UK Foreign Office invited the Russian charge d'affaires ad interim in the United Kingdom, Ivan Volodin, in order to express London's anxiety over Russian actions in Venezuela. Volodin met with UK Director General of Economic and Global Issues Menna Rawlings and expressed disagreement and concerns over the policy of Great Britain, the United States and other Western countries regarding Venezuela.
According to the spokesperson, the views of Moscow and London on the situation in Venezuela differ dramatically, and hence create "a clash of two conceptual approaches to international affairs". Moscow's approach implies basing on commonly approved norms of international law and rights for sovereignty, equality of states and non-interference in internal affairs, the spokesperson said. London, on the contrary, is relying on the concept of an "international order" that lets Western states create their own rules in international relations, the Russian embassy's representative stressed.
READ MORE: Venezuela Launches Criminal Action Against 7 Opp. Politicians After Failed Coup
The situation in Iraq, Libya, Syria and Ukraine are blatant examples of this Western approach, the spokesperson added.
Maduro has called Guaido a US puppet and accused the United States of orchestrating a coup in Venezuela to effect a forced change of government and claim the country’s resources.
READ MORE: Mogherini: Events In Venezuela Show Lack of Political Horizon to End Crisis
