Russia against sanctions | He accused the United States …

Russia on Tuesday called "illegal" new US sanctions against the Venezuelan oil company PDVSA, accusing Washington of "interference" and announcing its intention to defend its interests in Venezuela.

"The legitimate authorities of Venezuela consider that these sanctions are illegal and we add everything from this point of view," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. The spokesman accused Washington of "unfair competition" and "blatant interference".

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a press conference that Moscow "together with other responsible members of the international community, will do everything in its power to support the legitimate government from President Nicolás Maduro ".

The United States "has opted for the direct way of overthrowing the legitimate authorities of Venezuela," Lavrov said, for whom US sanctions "seriously undermine the last vestiges of confidence in the international monetary and financial system, based on preeminence of the dollar ". .

On Monday, the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Venezuela's main source of income, PDVSA, and determined that its US subsidiary, Citgo, would continue to operate as long as its profits were deposited in a blocked account.

Venezuela is going through a serious political crisis since opposition leader Juan Guaidó declared himself acting president of the country last week against Nicolás Maduro. Juan Guaidó was already recognized by the United States, then by several countries of Latin America and Canada.

Venezuela's second largest creditor after China, Russia represents significant political and financial support for the country, stifled by a deep economic crisis. In December, during a visit to Moscow, Maduro announced at a press conference that there would be $ 6 billion in Russian investment in the oil and mining sectors in Venezuela. .