Venezuela has not asked Moscow for direct mediation - ambassador
MOSCOW. Jan 30 (Interfax) - Venezuela has not asked Russia for direct mediation, Russian Ambassador to Venezuela Vladimir Zaemsky told Interfax.
"As for Russia's direct mediation, that would require a relevant initiative of the Venezuelans (both the government and the opposition). We have not received such request so far," Zaemsky said.
"However, there is demand for Moscow's support to the establishment of a dialogue amongst the Chavists and the moderate opposition, some of whose members the embassy is staying in touch with," he said.
Russia has an unwavering stance on the domestic political crisis in Venezuela: "we insist that the right of the Venezuelan people to make an independent choice on their future and to resolve their domestic problems be observed, and have repeatedly condemned the attempts of certain foreign countries to directly impact domestic political processes in the Bolivarian Republic and to interfere in internal affairs of the sovereign state," he said.
"We also think that the domestic political crisis can be resolved exclusively with peaceful methods, consistent with current laws and the Constitution," Zaemsky said.
This is why Russia has always supported initiatives of international mediation, "including the latest dialogue between representatives of the Chavist government and the opposition that took place in late 2017 and early 2018 in the Dominican Republic," he said.