© Reuters/Isaac Urrutia/AFP/Luis Robayo(L) Opposition supporters protest in Maracaibo, Venezuela, on February 2, 2019. (R) Supporters of President Nicolas Maduro demonstrate in Caracas, on January 23, 2019.
Ankara has warned that the states refusing meaningful dialogue with the legitimate authorities of Venezuela only 'help' to plunge the country into more chaos and uncertainty, rather than contribute to resolving the problem.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu cautioned that
"there is a spark that can turn into a fire at any moment." A crisis like that should be defused "through dialogue," and Venezuelan authorities have expressed readiness for it -
yet foreign states are apparently not interested."Is that how it happened? No. On the contrary, [the crisis] was fueled from the outside. The people of Venezuela were punished. Millions of people were forced to leave Venezuela."
Turkey's top diplomat was speaking on Sunday before the election ultimatum, given to the government of Nicolas Maduro by several European countries, expires. Twelve days ago, Juan Guaido declared himself "interim president" of Venezuela, claiming current President Nicolas Maduro is no longer fit to lead and that he essentially usurped power.
Following the announcement, Venezuela saw
thousands-strong rallies, both for and against Maduro. Some of the country's high-ranking officials,
including a defense attaché in the US, also announced their support for Guaido,
while the majority remained loyal to Maduro, including the army.
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