"The United States views Russia's arrival of military planes this weekend as an unwelcomed provocation", Pence said. "We call on Russia today to cease all support for the Maduro regime and stand with Juan Guaido, stand with nations across this hemisphere and across the world until freedom is restored".
READ MORE: All Options On Table When It Comes to Getting Russia Out of Venezuela — Trump
A group of Russian military personnel arrived in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas on Saturday to take part in consultations with the country's government officials on bilateral defence industry cooperation, a diplomatic source in Caracas told Sputnik.
The source added that there was "nothing mysterious" about it because the visit was directly related to contracts that had been signed by the two countries years ago.