EU Foreign Ministers To Discuss Situation In Venezuela In Bucharest January 31 - Statement

BRUSSELS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th January, 2019) The foreign ministers of the EU member states will discuss the situation in Venezuela during their informal meeting, set to be held in the Romanian capital of Bucharest next Thursday, the European Union External Action Service said in a statement late on Saturday.

"The EU will continue to closely follow the situation in Venezuela, and the EU Foreign Ministers will discuss it at the informal meeting ... next Thursday in Bucharest," the statement read.

According to the statement, EU foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, has coordinated the EU position on the Venezuelan political crisis with high-ranking officials from Spain, Italy, Cuba, Costa Rica, Peru, the Netherlands, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. She has also discussed the matter with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and Mauricio Macri, the president of Argentina.

In the "coming hours" Mogherini is going to contact EU international partners from other states, including Mexico, Uruguay, Ecuador, and Bolivia.

Earlier in the day, the European Union said in a statement that it firmly condemned violence by the Venezuelan authorities that had taken place during the mass protests that had been recently shaking the country.

The European Union also voiced full support to the Venezuelan National Assembly, calling it a "democratic legitimate body." The bloc also called for "free, transparent, and credible" presidential elections in the country, claiming that in the "absence of an announcement on the organisation of fresh elections with the necessary guarantees over the next days" it would recognize opposition leader Juan Guaido, who declared himself Venezuelan interim president, as the country's leader.

On Tuesday, the situation in Venezuela escalated when the opposition-controlled National Assembly declared that President Nicolas Maduro had usurped power. Opposition leader Guaido proclaimed himself an interim president the following day. The United States, along with its allies and some Latin American countries, recognized Guaido as the interim president of Venezuela.

Russia, China, Mexico, Uruguay, and other countries have expressed support for the Maduro government as being the legitimate authority in Venezuela.