UNITED NATIONS, February 25. /TASS/. The UN Security Council will hold a public meeting on the situation in Venezuela on Tuesday, February 26, at the United States' request, a diplomatic source in the organization informed TASS on Monday.
"The Security Council’s public briefing will be held tomorrow at the request of the United States," he said. According to the source, it is unclear at the moment whether or not the US will submit its draft resolution on Venezuela to the Security Council.
The US draft resolution obtained by TASS calls for holding the presidential election in the country. It is currently at the stage of expert consultations and has not been submitted to the Security Council yet. In response, Moscow has prepared its draft resolution calling for dialogue between the government and the opposition with regional countries acting as mediators.
Turmoil in Venezuela
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 (excluding Mexico), as well as the Organization of American States, recognized him as president. Venezuela's incumbent President Nicolas Maduro blasted these actions as an attempted coup and said that he was cutting diplomatic ties with the United States.
In contrast, Russia, Belarus, Bolivia, Iran, China, Cuba, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Syria and Turkey voiced support for Maduro.
