CARACAS - Italy “does not recognise” Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as its interim president, the European country’s deputy foreign minister said, warning that a Libya-style regime change must be avoided.
“Today, the greatest interest we have is to avoid a new war in Venezuela,” Manlio Di Stefano told Italy’s TV2000 network on Thursday. He added that the kind of regime change that failed in Libya must not be attempted, as it turned out to be a “mistake” that everyone recognized today.
“We must prevent this from happening in Venezuela,” he warned.
The Five Star Movement (M5S) politician’s comments come the same day the EU Parliament voted, in a non-legislative resolution, to recognize Guaido as interim president of the oil-rich South American nation.
In addition to MEPs giving their “full support” for Venezuela’s opposition-controlled parliament, the National Assembly, the bloc is also calling for fresh elections in the country in a bid to “restore democracy.” (RT)