Russia condemns U.S. military operation in Venezuela at UN Security Council

According to an Ukrinform correspondent in New York, Russia’s UN Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya said on Monday that the operation violated “all key norms of international law.”

Nebenzya stated that the seizure of Maduro, which led to the deaths of several dozen Venezuelan and Cuban citizens, “has become, in the eyes of many, a harbinger of a return to lawlessness and U.S. dominance by force.”

He emphasized Russia’s strong condemnation of the operation:

“We strongly condemn the seizure of oil tankers by the US military and the de facto naval blockade of Venezuela. The US actions violate all key norms of international law,” Nebenzya said.

According to him, the start of the new year “shocked all those around the world who had hoped that respect for international law, non-interference in the internal affairs of other states, diplomacy, and compromise would be the guiding principles of the new U.S. administration.”

Nebenzya also noted that attempts by those who demanded that others comply with the UN Charter to avoid making principled judgments about U.S. actions in Venezuela “seem especially hypocritical.”

He added that the U.S. operation “gives a new impulse to neocolonialism” and poses a threat to international norms and global security.

Nebenzya further stated that “the United States cannot be allowed to assert itself as some supreme judge, with the sole right to intervene in any country, determine the guilty, impose punishment, and carry it out, disregarding international jurisdiction, sovereignty, and non-interference.”

As Ukrinform previously reported, the UN Security Council convened on Monday to discuss the U.S. military operation in Venezuela and the capture of the country’s leader, Nicolás Maduro.