Tehran, Moscow will help Venezuela to overcome crisis through political approaches

AVA- In a Tuesday phone call initiated by the Iranian side, Zarif and Lavrov discussed the latest developments unfolding in Venezuela, which has been grappling with a political crisis since January, Xinhua quoted the Russian Foreign Ministry as saying in a brief statement on Tuesday.
The top Iranian and Russian diplomats expressed their “readiness to contribute, on the basis of the principles of the UN Charter, to the efforts of the international community to find mutual understanding between the responsible political forces of Venezuela,” it added.
According to the statement, these efforts should help ensure Venezuela’s internal peace and lead to a swift resolution of the “pressing social and economic” issues in the Latin American country.
The Latin American country is in the midst of a political crisis, which broke out in late January after opposition politician and president of the defunct National Assembly Juan Guaido abruptly declared himself “interim president” of Venezuela, challenging the outcome of last year’s presidential election in which President Nicolas Maduro emerged victorious.
Guaido’s bid was quickly recognized by the US followed by dozens of its regional and European allies. Washington slapped sanctions on the Venezuelan oil sector in support of the opposition figure and went as far as threatening a military option to topple the Caracas government.
On the other camp, Iran, Russia, Turkey and China, among other states, have voiced support for the elected Venezuelan government. The UN has also said it would only work with the Maduro-led administration.