The game of differences | Russia and the United States …

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov yesterday demonstrated in Finland their differences over the political crisis in Venezuela. Moscow flatly rejects any military intervention in this country, while Washington keeps all options on the table.

Pompeo and Lavrov held in Rovaniemi, the capital of Lapland, the first face-to-face meeting since the US-Russia summit in Helsinki last July, the first and only held to date by the presidents of both countries, Donald Trump and Vladimir . Putin.

At the end of this meeting, which was held as part of a ministerial meeting of the Arctic Council, Lavrov repeated to the press that Russia was totally opposed to a military intervention in Venezuela backed by the United States and warned that an operation of this nature would be "catastrophic". and unjustified. "We are categorically against a military intervention. The use of force may only be authorized by the United Nations Security Council or used to deal with aggression against a sovereign State. In Venezuela, nothing like this is observed, "Lavrov told reporters.

After this meeting, which Lavrov described as "good and constructive", the head of Russian diplomacy said that he had not found any country, including the United States, that was really in favor of resolution of the Venezuelan crisis by armed intervention. "From my contacts with my American colleagues and others, European, Latin American, I do not see supporters of a reckless military solution.I hope we all share this vision," he said. he declares.

Mr. Lavrov expressed the hope that this understanding would be put into practice and that a "military solution would not be sought because it would be catastrophic".

According to him, the meeting with Pompeo was "a step forward" with regard to the telephone conversation that Putin and Trump had two days ago, who agreed to meet again each time they have the opportunity and when the opportunity is given without giving a possible date. The only bilateral summit between Putin and Trump to date has been held precisely in the Finnish capital last July.

The US Secretary of State had already shown a little less conciliation to the press that accompanied him on his trip to Finland, where he had badured that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro still had power in the country, but that he no longer had the power to govern.

"Maduro must see that this is collapsing, as I have already said, it still commands, but it can not in any way govern," said Pompeo to the press, according to the website. Internet of the US State Department. Pompeo defined Maduro's current position as "weak" despite majority support from the Venezuelan army during the recent uprising led by opposition leader Juan Guaidó, recognized as Venezuela's interim president by more from fifty countries.

"This week, although Maduro managed to keep control of the army in some ways, many soldiers left, including a senior intelligence officer closely linked to him and his predecessor (Hugo Chávez) "said Pompeo.

Venezuela is one of the hottest points of friction between the United States and Russia, since Washington is the main international support for Guaidó, who was proclaimed president in charge of Venezuela last January, while Moscow is one solid ally of Maduro.

Both reproach themselves for interfering in Venezuelan politics to place the country in their sphere of influence. At the end of March, Russia sent to Venezuela two planes with a hundred soldiers commanded by Major General Vasili Tonkoshkurov, Chief of Staff of the Russian Army. According to Lavrov, the presence of these Russian forces in Venezuela is simply due to the maintenance of the technical-military equipment that Moscow has delivered to this country of South America, as part of a cooperation agreement signed in 2001 with Chávez.

However, Washington described the Russian deployment as a "direct threat" to support Maduro and defend Moscow's interests in Venezuela, a country with which it has important commercial and financial ties.

Recently, the United States repeatedly warned that they did not rule out any means, including military intervention, to support Guaidó.