Kremlin Warns against Meddling in Venezuelan Settlement

"It is most important now that Venezuelans themselves should settle all differences that can be between them in the framework of the constitution and the only help that all of us can offer is not to meddle in the situation like certain countries are doing directly," Peskov stressed, TASS news agency reported.

The Kremlin has not contacted Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido and has no plans to do that, Peskov told reporters.

When asked about contacts with Guaido, he said there hadn’t been any. At the same time, when asked whether contacts might take place in the future, Peskov said that as far as he knew "there are no such plans."

In response to a question if there was any progress in contacts with Venezuela and if the possibility of providing military and financial aid to President Nicolas Maduro was under consideration, the Kremlin spokesman noted that no such talks were underway. "Nothing has changed," Peskov said, commenting on the matter.

The Russian presidential spokesman declined to comment on reports claiming that an aircraft from the "Russia" Special Flight Squadron had allegedly made a flight to South America recently.

"We don’t have such information for we are not an air traffic service. I can’t tell you anything," Peskov noted.

He also rejected all allegations about Russia providing security guards to Maduro. "Such reports are based only on conspiracy theories. Everybody can see the security guards who protect Maduro. Just think logically," Peskov said, addressing reporters.

"No need to respond to bogus stories," he added.

Juan Guaido, Venezuelan opposition leader and parliament speaker, whose appointment to that position had been cancelled by the country’s Supreme Court, declared himself interim president at a rally in the country’s capital of Caracas on January 23. Several countries, including the United States, Lima Group members except Mexico, Australia, Albania, Georgia and Israel, as well as the Organization of American States, recognized him. Maduro, in turn, blasted the move as a coup staged by Washington and said he was severing diplomatic ties with the US.

Spain, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands said on January 26 that they would recognize Guaido as Venezuela’s interim president unless Maduro called elections in eight days.

Russia, Belarus, Bolivia, Iran, Cuba, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Turkey voiced support for Maduro, while China called for resolving all differences peacefully and warned against foreign interference. The United Nations secretary general, in turn, called for dialogue to resolve the crisis.