China Says Only Venezuelans Can Solve Their Country’s Issues

China’s foreign ministry said China also supported the efforts of the international community on the peaceful settlement of the Venezuela issue

Venezuela should resolve its own matters itself via peaceful talks and China supports the international community’s efforts in this regard, the Chinese foreign ministry said, according to Telesur.

The ministry said while it supports the recent international efforts by some EU countries and others in Latin America, China still supports an internal resolution to the conflict away from interference and intervention.

“Venezuela’s affairs should be resolved by its people within the framework of the constitution and the law through peaceful dialogue and political channels,” the ministry said.

“Only this way can Venezuela realizing lasting stability.”

About 20 European Union nations including Britain, Germany, France and Spain have aligned with the United States in recognizing Juan Guaido as Venezuela’s interim president and pressuring socialist President Nicolas Maduro to call a new election.

Offering a counterpoint to Washington’s hard-line stance, the EU and a group of Latin American governments, who still recognized Juan Guaido’s illegal self-declaration as the “interim president” of Venezuela, called for dialogue and fresh elections while rejecting suggestions by Washington of a possible military intervention if Maduro refuses to step down soon.

China’s foreign ministry said China supported the efforts of the international community on the peaceful settlement of the Venezuela issue and hoped all parties would continue to play a constructive role.

China has lent more than $50 billion to Venezuela through oil-for-loan agreements over the past decade, securing energy supplies for its fast-growing economy.

Guiado and his allies Trump, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his National Security advisor have so far responded to such calls by escalation and rejection of any dialogue. They continue to call for the military to intervene, while sources in the United States have revealed that Trump is “seriously considering” military intervention into Venezuela if Maduro does not step down.

To further the pressure, the United States imposed harsh economic sanction on the Venezuelan oil industry and its national oil company, while also blocking the bank accounts of the Venezuelan state in the United States, vowing to only remove such restrictions when Guiado achieves control of the state institutions.

H.M