Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow

The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Monday that Washington's "farce" regarding Venezuela's opposition is to maintain control over the Latin American country's resources.

On December 30, the Venezuelan opposition voted out the head of the "interim government" Juan Guaido, the US-sponsored self-proclaimed "interim president".

The Venezuelan opposition's congress later on January 5 replaced Guaido and announced the appointment of Dinorah Figuera as "president" and Marianela Fernandez and Auristela Vasquez as "vice presidents" for the 2023-2024 legislative period.

“It is obvious that the tasks of the patrons of the 'color revolution' that did not take place in Venezuela remain the same... The ultimate goal of this farce is not hidden - to keep control over the Venezuelan state financial resources in foreign jurisdiction," the Russian Ministry stated.

"Apparently, any pseudo-legal schemes will be used to continue to keep at the disposal of the "democratic government of Venezuela in exile" such tidbits as the American subsidiary of the PDVSA oil state concern - Citgo - and gold in the Bank of England," it added.

Venezuela was thrown into a political crisis in January 2019 when Juan Guaido, the former head of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, backed by the US, declared himself "interim president" in an attempt to depose democratically re-elected President Nicolas Maduro.

The United States and most Western countries backed Guaido and imposed crippling sanctions on Venezuela, while Russia, China, Turkey, and a number of other countries backed Maduro.

The Ministry confirmed Moscow's desire to move forward with strengthening the ties with its close ally and advancing cooperation.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has recently confirmed that his government is ready to develop the process of normalizing political and diplomatic relations with the US, following Washington's ease of sanctions against the oil-rich country as the West is facing the backlash of its sanctions against Russia linked to the war in Ukraine.