Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov speaks during a joint press conference with his Iraqi counterpart after their meeting in Moscow on January 30, 2019.
Russia is prepared to participate in "international formats" of mediation to try to resolve the current situation in Venezuela, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday.
"We are ready to participate in international (mediation) efforts in those formats that are acceptable to the Venezuelan parties", the head of Russian diplomacy told a joint press conference with his Iraqi counterpart, Mohamed Ali al Hakim.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro said today in an interview with the Russian agency RIA Nóvosti that he is willing to sit down with the opposition to dialogue, with an open agenda, on "peace and the future" of the country, after the Parliament chief, Juan Guaidó, will proclaim himself president in charge.
Maduro also said that there are currently private and telephone conversations between presidents and foreign ministers in this regard and that he hopes that "there will be good results in the coming hours", given that several governments have launched the idea of a dialogue, such as Mexico, Uruguay, Bolivia, the Vatican and Russia, among others.
Lavrov stressed that any mediation initiative should "be impartial" and should unite "a wide range of international actors that have as much influence on the government as on the opposition."
"We really want to help create the conditions for a dialogue between the Government and the opposition and we are addressing it with our Venezuelan partners, China and with Latin American and European countries," he added.
The presidential spokesman, Dmitri Peskóv, said today in his press conference that, as he understood, for now Moscow has not received concrete proposals from President Maduro in this regard.
Lavrov welcomed the Venezuelan President's willingness "to accept international (mediation) efforts," and called on the opposition to "show an equally constructive approach", to "withdraw the ultimatums" and to "act independently" in the interests of the Venezuelans
"Up to now all the (mediation) initiatives are met with a categorical refusal, with opposition leaders refusing to engage in any dialogue," said the Russian Foreign Minister, who opined that "the West publicly encourages them to adopt that position destructive. "
On the other hand, Russia described as "gossip" the statements of José Guerra, deputy of the National Assembly, about alleged attempts in Caracas to extract 20 tons of gold from the Central Bank of Venezuela to transport them to Russia in a plane that arrived in the country from Moscow, according to the newspaper "El Nacional".
"I do not know anything about this," he said when asked if an empty Boeing of the Russian airline Nordwind allegedly flew to Venezuela, adding that "you have to be careful about the gossip that circulates."