The Russian Foreign Minister said that a military intervention in Venezuela would be "catastrophic and unjustified"

The Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergey Lavrov, repeated in Finland that his country is totally opposed to 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 can only be authorized by the United Nations Security Council, or used to deal with aggression against a sovereign state. In Venezuela, nothing similar to this is observed"Lavrov told the press.

The Russian Chancellor addressed the issue of Venezuela at a meeting with his American counterpart, Mike Pompeo, as part of a ministerial meeting of the Arctic Council in Rovaniemi (Finnish Lapland).

After this meeting Lavrov called "good and constructive"The head of the Russian diplomacy said that he has found no country that is really in favor of resolving the Venezuelan crisis by armed intervention.

"Based on my contacts with my American colleagues and others, Europeans, Latin Americans, I do not see supporters of an imprudent military solution. I hope we all share this vision"he said.

The Russian Chancellor expressed the hope that this understanding will be put into practice and "a military solution will not be sought, because it would be catastrophic"

Lavrov said his meeting with Pompeo meant "one step forward"Regarding the telephone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his American counterpart Donald Trump two days ago.

"Our presidents have agreed to meet when they have the opportunity, and I am confident that this opportunity will be offered," he said, without giving a date.

The only bilateral summit between Putin and Trump so far took place precisely in the Finnish capital last July.

Recently, the United States has warned that it has not ruled out any options, including military intervention, to support Juan Guaidó, recognized as Venezuela's interim president by more than fifty countries.

However, Moscow considers that the only legitimate president of Venezuela is Nicolás Maduro.

(With information from EFE)