4 Mar 2019 12:15

Crisis in Venezuela not clash between Russia, U.S., but conflict between int'l law and unlimited permissiveness - Medvedev

MOSCOW. March 4 (Interfax) - The Venezuelan crisis should not be seen as a conflict between Moscow and Washington in the spirit of the Cold War, but as a clash between international law and unlimited permissiveness, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has said.

"The tension around Venezuela is not a matter of a global conflict between Russia and the United States. A global conflict has long been non-existent, even in light of all current problems in our relations with the United States," he said in an interview with the Bulgarian newspaper Trud before visiting Bulgaria.

"Such stereotypes in the spirit of the Cold War are deceptive, they only help to distract attention from the essence of the events taking place in the Bolivarian Republic and, of course, from the role in these events of the United States and a number of European and Latin American countries following its policy," he said.

"The information noise around Venezuela is aimed at camouflaging a conflict between international law and lawfulness on one hand, and unlimited permissiveness on the other," Medvedev said.

Russia's policies on the Venezuelan crisis are aimed at achieving peace in the country, and that is only possible through internal national dialogue, he said.

The result that Russia wants to achieve is peace in Venezuela and this "can be achieved solely by internal national comprehensive and respectful dialogue," Medvedev said.

Moscow is against any external interference in the affairs of this country, he said.

"In Venezuela, we support efforts, including by representatives of the Latin American region, to establish dialogue between the government and the opposition. We are continuing to do that now," he said.