WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will press UN Security Council members to recognize Juan Guaido as acting president of Venezuela during an upcoming crisis meeting, the State Department said Friday.
The United States requested Saturday's session after it threw its support behind the Venezuelan opposition leader and declared leftist firebrand Nicolas Maduro to be an illegitimate president.
"Secretary Pompeo will urge members of the Security Council and the international community to uphold international peace and security by recognizing Juan Guaido as the constitutional interim President of Venezuela, and call for support for the transitional government in their quest to restore democracy and the rule of law," the State Department said in a statement announcing his trip.
The United States has been joined by key players in the Americas in recognizing Guaido including Argentina, Brazil, Canada and Colombia.
But none of the other five veto-wielding powers on the Security Council have formally backed Guaido.
Britain and France have both called Maduro's re-election last year illegitimate but stopped short of officially recognizing Guaido, a 35-year-old engineer who heads the opposition-led National Assembly, although British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt called Guaido "the right person to take Venezuela forward."
Russia has strongly supported its ally Maduro, and China, Venezuela's main creditor, has voiced opposition to outside interference.
Pompeo to ask UN Security Council to recognize Venezuela’s Guaido
Pompeo to ask UN Security Council to recognize Venezuela’s Guaido
- Britain and France have both called Maduro's re-election last year illegitimate but stopped short of officially recognizing Guaido
- The United States has been joined by key players in the Americas in recognizing Guaido including Argentina, Brazil, Canada and Colombia
