Russia says US aid to Venezuela a \'pretext for military action\'

Russia says US aid to Venezuela a 'pretext for military action'

AFP  |  Moscow 

on Friday accused the of using aid deliveries to as a ploy to carry out military action against Nicolas

Guaido's plans to try to bring the aid across the border are aimed at provoking clashes, she said, to provide "a convenient pretext for conducting military action".

is a key supporter of and has repeatedly accused of trying to carry out a coup in

On Thursday, Guaido set out in a convoy to collect US-supplied and medicine stockpiled in Colombia, vowing to bring in the aid by Saturday.

Maduro has closed the border with to prevent the entry of aid and the military has beefed up security at the Colombian border.

Zakharova alleged that the US had moved special forces and military equipment "closer to Venezuelan territory" and was considering large-scale weapons purchases to arm the opposition.

Noting that it had been five years since the Ukrainian revolution that ousted a Russian-backed leader -- which has accused the US of orchestrating -- Zakharova said was preparing for more regime change in

"It seems that in there is nothing to mark the fifth anniversary of the coup d'etat in Ukraine, so they decided to hold a new coup d'etat," she said.

She warned that a US military intervention in Venezuela would lead to a "sharp increase in tensions" around the world.

Shipments of and medicine for Venezuelans suffering in the country's economic crisis have become a focus of the power struggle between Maduro and Guaido.

Maduro has said was providing 300 tonnes of aid but has not provided details.

Russian agencies reported that Venezuela's of Industries and National Production Tareck El Aissami would visit on Friday to meet with Russian officials.

A source quoted by the agency said talks would focus on "cooperation in trade and the economy".

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Fri, February 22 2019. 18:15 IST