Russia to propose its own draft resolution on Venezuela to UN Security Council — source

Russia plans to submit to the UN Security Council (UNSC) its own draft resolution on resolving the Venezuelan crisis in response to US-proposed draft that envisages new elections. Copies of both documents were obtained by TASS.

"[UN Security Council] calls for settling the situation in Venezuela by peaceful means," the Russian draft resolution said adding that the UNSC "supports all initiatives aimed at achieving political settlement, including the mechanism developed in Montevideo."

The US draft resolution proposes to annul the results of the 2018 presidential election in Venezuela and hold new elections in the Latin American country.

A diplomatic source told TASS that both draft resolutions are currently being considered by experts and have not yet been submitted to UN SC. "Expert consultations on this will be held at the start of next week," the source said. "It is worth noting that the US have not yet recalled their chairperson's draft statement after the last UN Security Council session on Venezuela. The Russian delegation then suggested several amendments that the US did not agree with, but they also did not withdraw the draft," the source added.

On January 23 Venezuelan National Assembly Speaker Juan Guaido proclaimed himself as the country's acting president. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has described it as a coup attempt and announced severing diplomatic relations with the United States.

Guaido was recognized as interim president by the Lima Group countries (except for Mexico), as well as by Albania, Georgia, the United States, and the Organization of American States. Several EU countries came forward with support for the Venezuelan parliament and expressed hope for new elections to resolve the crisis. Maduro was supported by Russia, Bolivia, Iran, Cuba, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Turkey. Belarus and China called for resolving all issues by peaceful means and spoke against any interference from the outside. The UN secretary general called for dialogue to resolve the crisis.