Russia defended its cooperation with the dictatorship of Maduro and criticized the United States: "Attempts at intimidation seem ridiculous"

The Russian government stated that it had no military contingent in Venezuela or that it was conducting military operations in the Andean country, while criticizing the US position, calling the actions against the regime of Nicolás Maduro.

"There is no military contingent, and therefore the claims that Russia is conducting military operations in Venezuela are totally unfounded," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman María said. Zajárova, in a statement.

He stressed that recently arrived Russians in Caracas are "specialists in technical-military cooperation". On Thursday, Zajárova said in his weekly press conference that the presence of these soldiers in Venezuela was legitimate and that they would stay in the country as long as necessary.

The United States again warned Russia on Friday against the deployment of troops in Venezuela in favor of Maduro, considering these actions as a "provocation" and reaffirming its determination to defend its interests and those of "its partners" in the region.

"Attempts to intimidate Russia with sanctions for its legitimate cooperation with Venezuela seem ridiculous"he said, while he considered that Washington is "nervous" because "its attempt to change power quickly failed" in Venezuela.

"We recommend that the United States stop threatening Venezuela, strangle its economy and push it towards a civil war, by openly violating international law," he said.

In addition, he urged all Venezuelan political forces to engage in dialogue and badured that Moscow was ready to give its full support to this dialogue.

Russia and Venezuela concluded in 2011 a military cooperation agreement providing for the sale of arms to Russia in Caracas, financed by a Russian loan.

(With information from EFE and AFP)