BUENOS AIRES (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th June, 2019) Caracas will stop providing services in its consulates in Canada, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said on Sunday.
Earlier this week, Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said that Ottawa decided to temporarily suspend operations at the country's embassy in Venezuela. At the same time, the foreign minister added that Canada would continue to provide consular assistance to Canadians in Venezuela through the embassy in Colombia.
"Venezuela will stop providing consular services in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal. All diplomatic functions will be concentrated in the Venezuelan Embassy in Ottawa. We hope that Canada will soon restore its sovereignty in foreign policy," Arreaza wrote on Twitter.
The situation in Venezuela remains tense since January when opposition leader Juan Guaido proclaimed himself an interim president. Washington and some other countries, including Canada, endorsed Guaido and called on President Nicolas Maduro to step down. Moreover, the United States seized billions of Dollars' worth of Venezuelan oil assets.
Maduro, in turn, has accused the United States of trying to orchestrate a coup in order to install Guaido as its puppet and take over Venezuela's natural resources.
Russia, China, Cuba, Bolivia, Turkey and a number of other countries have voiced their support for Maduro as the only legitimate president of Venezuela.
