Laws, justice will bring solution to Venezuela: Maduro
CARACAS
Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro on Jan. 27 vowed to find a solution to the political problems in the country with the help of the supreme judicial bodies, saying that he is open to dialogue after an opposition leader declared himself “acting president”, and found support from the United States and several European and South American countries.
“You can see the unity of the law, people and the military on this occasion. Actually all these developments are very complicated and difficult to resolve. The solution of the problem is in the laws and justice. This incident will be concluded by the supreme judiciary. There is rule of law in Venezuela,” Maduro said during an interview with Turkish broadcaster CNN Türk’s Cüneyt Özdemir in Caracas.
“We will establish peace and we will continue to condemn these developments as we did in the [United Nations] Security Council. All these lies are the U.S.’s doing. I am open to dialogue,” he said.
Referring to the self-declared parliament speaker and acting president Juan Guaido, Maduro said: “We have faced many attacks since [former president Hugo] Chavez passed away but it has been worse since [Donald] Trump came to power [in the United States]. The U.S. has been attacking us since this extremist man came to power and now they have planned a coup attempt. They pushed a man of doubtful reputation to be their face.”
Maduro also recalled news reports in the U.S. media about an alleged communication between Trump and Guaido on Jan. 22, a day before Guaido’s swearing-in ceremony.
On the other hand, Venezuelan leader pointed out that negotiations with the U.S. were still continuing.
Maduro had announced cutting off diplomatic relations with the U.S. and giving American diplomats 72 hours to leave the country on Jan. 23.
He also lashed out at the European countries which gave support to the opposition leader.
“Venezuela is not dependent on Europe. It is a total insolence. Despising us for beign in the south is an insolent act. The mentioned European elites do not represent the public opinion of the people in Europe,” Maduro said.
When asked about Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s phone call to show support for him, Venezuelan leader said that it was “no surprise”.
“To be honest, when there was a coup attempt against Erdoğan [in 2016] I was not aware of the situation in Turkey. But when I heard about the coup attempt and saw the photos of the people on the streets defending their homeland I immediately called on my foreign minister to condemn this attack. We have been friends with Erdoğan since that day. I can say that he is a good friend. I love Turkish people,” he said.