Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro rejected an international ultimatum to call elections within eight days and said Opposition leader Juan Guaido had violated the Constitution by declaring himself the interim leader.
Israel on Sunday joined a growing list of countries led by the United States that back Mr. Guaido’s claim to the presidency on the basis that Mr. Maduro’s second-term election victory was fraudulent.
Mr. Maduro, in an interview with CNN Turk aired on Sunday, also said he was open to dialogue and that meeting U.S. President Donald Trump was improbable but not impossible. The broadcaster dubbed the interview from Spanish into Turkish. “It’s not impossible but it’s not likely. I sent many messages to Donald Trump.”
‘Complete insolence’
“They should withdraw this ultimatum. No one can give us an ultimatum,” Mr. Maduro said. “Venezuela is not tied to Europe. This is complete insolence,” he added, as he described the European countries’ actions as a “mistake”. “All that is happening is linked to America. They are attacking us and they think Venezuela is their back garden,” Mr. Maduro told the interviewer.
Washington on Saturday urged the world to “pick a side” on Venezuela and financially disconnect from Mr. Maduro’s government.
While Mr. Maduro’s government looks increasingly isolated internationally, it retains the support of China and Russia.
Venezuela has sunk into turmoil under Mr. Maduro with food shortages and protests amid an economic and political crisis that has sparked mass emigration and inflation that is seen rising to 10 million per cent this year. Britain, Germany, France and Spain all said they would recognise Mr. Guaido if Mr. Maduro failed to call fresh elections within eight days, an ultimatum Russia said was “absurd” and the Venezuelan Foreign Minister called “childlike”.
‘A fraudulent win’
Washington, Canada, most Latin American nations and many European states have labelled Mr. Maduro’s second-term election win last May as fraudulent. The successor to late President Hugo Chavez cruised to victory after blocking the main Opposition candidates from running. Turnout was low.
“Israel joins the United States, Canada, most of the countries of Latin America and countries in Europe in recognising the new leadership in Venezuela,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a statement.
Mr. Maduro retains the loyalty of the armed forces, though Venezuela’s top military envoy to the U.S. on Saturday defected to Mr. Guaido. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had voiced his support for Mr. Maduro in a phone call on Thursday.
